Sinkhole, River Valley fire rescuers meet the president at the Istana
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SINGAPORE: Days after meeting the President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and his wife at the Istana, the seven migrant workers who rescued a woman from a sinkhole along Tanjong Katong Road South last month were once again awarded for their heroics. On Wednesday (Aug 6), the men were each presented with the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) Community Lifesaver Award during an appreciation ceremony organised by the Marine Parade Citizens' Consultative Committees. The event was held at a sheltered space between Blocks 74 and 75 Marine Drive. The SCDF award is presented to members of the public whose actions saved lives and involved an element of self-risk. The workers were also treated to an appreciation lunch, and were each given a goodie bag prepared by telecommunications company Singtel. The bag contained items such as a SG60 Merlion keychain plushie blind box, a handheld fan and essentials such as a 2.5kg sack of rice, shower cream, detergent powder and toothbrushes. Each worker also received a one-year unlimited 5G data plan from Singtel and a notebook personalised with their names. Mr Pitchai Udaiyappan Subbiah, the foreman of the construction site where the sinkhole appeared, told reporters that there was a lot of gratitude flowing to he and his workers, with people thanking them for their actions. Speaking to the media through a translator, the workers said they were proud to have received the SCDF award and hope to stay in Singapore until the end of their working lives. They were earlier awarded an appreciation coin from the Manpower Ministry for their rescue effort. Witnessing the SCDF award ceremony on Wednesday, Minister of State for the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Social and Family Development Goh Pei Ming thanked the workers for putting themselves in the line of risk to step forward and help the driver "instead of running away from the danger". "The whole nation has seen what you did that day. We are all very grateful for your bravery. Singapore is better because you have played a part in helping to support and build the Singapore, very good parts of it, we have today," he added. Mr Goh, who is also the Member of Parliament representing the Marine Parade-Braddell Heights ward where the sinkhole incident occurred, also commended the workers for their hard work in repairing the sinkhole and reinstating the affected sections of the road that reopened in stages from last Saturday. The sinkhole appeared along Tanjong Katong Road South on Jul 26, causing a car to fall in. It was adjacent to a PUB worksite that involved the construction of a 16m-deep shaft. APPRECIATION FOR WORKERS INVOLVED IN ROAD REPAIR Apart from the seven workers, 43 others who were involved in the road repair efforts were also each given the goodie bag, Singtel said in a Facebook post on Wednesday. Four of these workers were present at the ceremony. They are Mr Dharmalingam Venkatraman, 49; Mr Anandan Prakash, 29; Mr Balakrishnan Balamurugan, 27; and Mr John Peter Benish Albert, 28. Working a mix of day and night 12-hour shifts, the workers managed to gradually reopen Tanjong Pagar Road South to the public on Aug 4, nine days after the incident. Speaking to reporters towards the end of the event, Mr Goh said his current focus was on engaging residents living near the sinkhole. He had met with the management of One Amber condominium located near the road where the sinkhole had appeared, and reassured them and the residents that the buildings were safe. The minister of state added that he will be conducting house visits in the weeks to come to meet and hear directly from the residents on their concerns. Asked for updates on the sinkhole incident, Mr Goh noted that the national water agency PUB and the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) are still carrying out independent investigations. "I think it's important to give them the time and the space to do a full investigation so that we can prevent such incidents in the future," he added.
