S'pore PHV driver, 37, suffers stroke after working 14 hour-days, hospitalised for a week

A private-hire vehicle driver in Singapore suffered a serious stroke in September 2026 and was rushed to the hospital, where doctors discovered he had high blood pressure.

Wu Jin Xiong (transliteration), 37, typically worked for more than 14 hours each day, picking up passengers from about 4am in the morning, Zaobao reported.

His father recalled how his son suddenly fell ill that day and was not able to speak coherently.

The doctors at Tan Tock Seng Hospital said that Wu's stroke was related to his high blood pressure, but he also had other stroke risk factors such as a high cholesterol, being overweight, and smoking.

He appeared "healthy" on the outside, but his job meant that he often stayed immobile in his driver's seat.

His father also said that Wu did not exercise enough, and would still stay up late after returning home from a long day of work. Such a lifestyle perhaps contributed to his stroke as well.

Acupuncture recovery

After staying in the hospital for about a week, his health gradually began to stabilise, and he continued his recovery at Tan Tock Seng Hospital's Integrated Care Hub (ICH).

Initially, despite the treatment, Wu felt some pain and weakness in his arms.

At his father's advice, he signed up for the acupuncture treatment at the ICH.

His father had previously tried acupuncture when he felt pain in his arms and legs, and found it to be effective.

Now, he has seen improvement in his son too.

Wu has been feeling less pain, and has been sleeping better in the afternoon than before, his father observed.

More holistic treatment

The inpatient acupuncture service at TTSH ICH has been available since January 2025, and more than 200 patients have received this service.

Separately, the stroke rehabilitation programme is one of the projects awarded under MOH's Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Integrative Sandbox.

Loh Yong Joo, the head of Tan Tock Seng Hospital's Rehabilitation Medicine department, told the Zaobao that it is not ideal for stroke patients to use painkillers to relieve pain symptoms due to their side effects.

Acupuncture can treat the body more holistically, from the physical to the psychological, which is something one cannot get from taking Western medicine alone, the doctor said.