For close to three hours last Saturday (Jul 6), the elderly father of Facebook user Jonathan Meng Sum Lee was left helplessly stranded on an overhead bridge in Chinatown, after the strength in both his legs gave out.
While several concerned passers-by attempted to assist Lee’s father, they did not have the necessary skills and knowledge to help him off the bridge in a safe manner. Lee’s sisters, who were with their father, were also unable to bring him down the bridge.
Enter Mdm Isvari N Veloo, a housekeeping staff at Singapore General Hospital (SGH), who happened to pass by Lee’s father on the bridge.
Realising what had happened, Veloo immediately sprang into action to help the elderly man. Using her years of experience and knowledge from working in SGH, Veloo – with the help of several other kind Samaritans and Lee’s sisters – was able to safely bring Lee’s father back to ground level.
This act of kindness was publicly acknowledged by Lee, who went on SGH’s Facebook page to pen a heartfelt message of thanks and appreciation to Veloo.
“We are truly and deeply grateful for a kind Samaritan like Mdm Veloo. Without her assistance and guidance, I think my sisters and our father would have been stranded on that bridge for a much longer time on a very humid and warm day,” wrote Lee.
Lee added that Veloo was left tired and sweating from the effort of bringing his father down the bridge, and called on SGH to “recognise her kindness and…her dedication to her profession.”
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Lee’s sister, Felicia, also praised Veloo for going “beyond the call of duty” in this situation.
Lee’s post has since gone viral, with many netizens praising Veloo for her actions, as well as commending Lee for taking the time and effort to thank her.
Facebook user Natasha Lean wrote: “It’s very thoughtful of you, Jonathan Meng Sum Lee, to even take the time to acknowledge and put up a post to recognize good Samaritans. Thank you. It’s hard to see good Samaritans nowadays and Mdm Veloo, u are awesome! God Bless.”
Another user, Nisha Padbidri, said: “This is such an inspiring story on account of both Ms Veloo and the Lee Family. Ms Veloo for using her professional knowledge to swiftly assess the situation and help Mr Lee and mobilise the passers-by, and the Lee family for taking the time to recognise Ms Veloo…the world is a better place because of you all!”
In response to Lee’s post, SGH said: “Thanks for sharing with us how our colleague Mdm Veloo was able to provide assistance. We will definitely share your compliments with her.”