Couple saves man after watching World Cup game
The World Cup match between France and Denmark on Tuesday night was a dour 0-0 affair.
But there was plenty of excitement after that for a couple who had watched the game at a Jalan Besar coffee shop.
Mr Muhammad Faizal Ibrahim and his girlfriend Noor Hafawati Othman were leaving the coffee shop to go for supper at about 1.15am yesterday when they heard a thud and saw a man in his 50s lying on the road nearby.
Mr Muhammad, 26, an emergency response specialist at the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) rushed over to feel his pulse, only to discover he was not breathing.
CPR
He ripped open the man's shirt and started cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on him.
Miss Noor, 28, a nurse at Thomson Medical Centre, checked on the man's breathing and told onlookers to call for an ambulance.
After the first cycle of CPR, the man started breathing again.
Yesterday, Mr Muhammad told The New Paper: "As a first-aider, it was my first instinct to offer medical help.
"It was lucky we were at the scene to help him before the ambulance arrived."
But the man stopped breathing again when the couple moved him to lie on his right side.
Mr Muhammad said: "I was quite frantic when he suddenly stopped breathing but I had to adopt a 'keep calm, let's continue' attitude."
Immediately, the couple turned the man to lie on his back and performed CPR for another 10 minutes before an ambulance arrived.
A spokesman from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said the man was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital in an SCDF ambulance.
A video clip showing Mr Muhammad applying CPR on the man was posted on Facebook, yesterday morning.
Mr Muhammad, who has been working at PSA for five years, added that he never thought he would have to use his CPR skills off-duty.
He said: "This is my first time performing CPR in public outside of work. My hands were shaking right after the incident but I'm so proud to use my skills in such an emergency."
Miss Noor, who has been a nurse for four years, said she also had not offered medical help to anyone outside of work.
PSA's Emergency Response Specialist team leader Farhan Sailan said of Mr Muhammad: "I am proud of him as he used his set of skills with confidence to help others outside of work."
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