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Migrant workers each given a Friends of Ace coin for saving woman from sinkhole

Seven migrant workers were each given a coin for saving a female driver after her car fell into a sinkhole along Tanjong Katong Road South on Saturday (26 July).

In a Facebook video on Monday (28 July), Minister of State for Manpower Dinesh Vasu Dash said the coin was a “small token of appreciation” to recognise their good work.

Source: Dinesh Vasu Dash on Facebook

Minister meets migrant workers at their dorm

Mr Dinesh said he met the workers in their dormitory on Sunday (27 July) night after they finished “a long shift” at work, with some of them having worked overtime.

Source: Dinesh Vasu Dash on Facebook

He spoke to all seven of them, identified as:

Mr Pitchai Udaiyappan Subbaiah, 47

Mr Velmurugan Muthusamy, 27

Mr Poomalai Saravanan, 28

Mr Ganesan Veerasekar, 32

Mr Bose Ajithkumar, 26

Mr Narayanasamy Mayakrishnan, 25

Mr Sathapillai Rajendran, 56

They were involved in different ways to support the lady in need, which “made a big difference” to a situation that would have “otherwise been very different”, he added.

Source: Dinesh Vasu Dash on Facebook

Migrant workers presented coins from MOM

Mr Dinesh also presented each of them with a Friends of ACE coin as a token of appreciation.

The coins, named after the Assurance, Care and Engagement (ACE) Group under the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), are something like certificates of commendation.

Source: Dinesh Vasu Dash on Facebook

The migrant workers who helped save children from a fire that broke out in a River Valley shophouse in April also received the coins.

Migrant workers praised for quick reaction when sinkhole occurred

Mr Dinesh praised seven workers for reacting quickly to help the driver and stopping traffic to prevent further incidents from happening, saying:

I think this is a very good example of how our migrant workers help society in general.

He noted that not only do migrant workers build Singapore, but they also “step forward and make themselves counted when it’s important for them to do so”.

Source: Dinesh Vasu Dash on Facebook

He thanked Singapore’s migrant workers for their contributions to Singapore’s progress and for their “many selfless acts” that help make Singapore “a more gracious society”.

Migrant workers’ heroism caught on video

The migrant workers’ heroic actions were caught on a video, which showed them pulling the driver out of the sinkhole and setting up barriers to prevent other vehicles from driving into it.

Foreman Mr Pitchai told the media that he had prevented other workers from entering the sinkhole due to the risks.

Instead, his workers threw a long rope into the sinkhole to pull the woman up.

He also lent her his phone so she could contact her daughter.

Also read: Tanjong Katong sinkhole formed at same time as adjacent shaft structure ‘failed’, PUB calls safety time-out

Tanjong Katong sinkhole formed at same time as adjacent shaft structure ‘failed’, PUB calls safety time-out

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Featured image adapted from Dinesh Vasu Dash on Facebook.