SINGAPORE: A video showing an elderly woman falling while carrying a toddler as she attempted to cross a road in Hougang has gone viral online, with many Singaporeans praising a good Samaritan who stepped forward to help. The incident took place on Sep 4.
The footage, first uploaded on the Singapore Road Vigilante (SGRV) Facebook page on Sep 5, shows an elderly woman tripping at a road divider along Hougang Avenue 9. She fell onto the road just as a vehicle was passing.
A car recording the incident stopped in time to avoid running over her and the child, who remained in her arms during the fall.
The driver of this car rushed to the senior’s aid, helped her back to her feet and assisted her as she limped across the two-lane road.
While many netizens praised the driver for stepping forward to help, criticism was directed at the elderly woman for risking the toddler’s safety. One Facebook user commented, “Grandma please don’t jaywalk!!! Omg the granddaughter so young. Don’t know what was she thinking!”
Another commenter said on Reddit, “You don’t care your own life and want to jaywalk is one thing but you take along toddler with you?”
The clip has since gained significant traction online, with over 100,000 views on Facebook alone. It has also been cross-posted to other internet forums.
While some netizens suggested the senior citizen might have lost balance while stepping backwards when she saw incoming traffic, others noted that there was a pedestrian crossing just a few metres away.
One netizen said, “Old people jaywalking is an increasing problem in Singapore. Bad enough that they endanger themselves and cause accidents, but if they are endangering others like in this case, they should be receiving the full punishment of the law.”
Some commenters were more sympathetic. “Considering how spaced out are the pedestrian crossing and how hard it is to get around with a toddler, I am not at all surprised aunty did what she did,” a Redditor wrote.
Amid the debate, the woman who stopped her car to help was widely lauded for her quick action. “Kudos to the kind lady. Singapore and the world need more people like her,” a netizen said.
