Cab drivers leave sick girl in a lurch December 11, 2008 Print Ready Email Article
THE 13-year-old girl needed treatment for food poisoning. The doctor at the neighbourhood clinic advised her parents to take her to Changi General Hospital's (CGH) Accident & Emergency department.
As she was too weak to walk, the girl's father carried her and tried to hail a taxi to the hospital.
But his experience with two cabbies left Mr Lim Kok Kwee fuming. He claimed that one cabby just drove past him without stopping, while another stopped but drove off when he saw him and his daughter.
His daughter, Shi Li, had fallen ill at their home at Block 102, Tampines Street 11, at about 9pm last Tuesday night
Mr Lim, 52, a technician, told The New Paper: 'She was too weak to walk. So I carried her downstairs.'
After about 10 minutes, a Comfort cab stopped.
Mr Lim said: 'The driver looked at us, and then drove off without a word.'
Five minutes later, another Comfort cab drove past them.
Mr Lim said: 'I was furious. We needed a taxi urgently.'
A kind passer-by later helped them hail a cab, about 20 minutes after they had left home.
Shi Li was administered drips and discharged after midnight.
But Mr Lim is still angry with the two cabbies. His elder daughter, Ms Shimin Lim, a 20-year-old student, who e-mailed The New Paper, said: 'What if my sister had been in an even more critical condition?'
Mr Lim had taken down the licence plate numbers, and Shimin e-mailed ComfortDelgro to complain.
ComfortDelgro confirmed this. Mr Lim said he also gave feedback to the Land Transport Authority.
Matter being investigated
ComfortDelgro spokesman Tammy Tan told The New Paper they are investigating the matter.
'We are dismayed to learn that two of our drivers chose to ignore the Lim family when they tried to hail our taxis. This is unbecoming behaviour and we have conducted an investigation into the matter.'
She said the first driver claimed he was going to pick up another group of passengers who happened to flag his cab earlier.
His claim cannot be verified, Ms Tan said, but he has been given a warning and is having his performance monitored.
As for the second driver, a tracking system showed that he was about to take a break and did not pick up passengers until much later that night, Ms Tan said.
But, she added, he should have shown that he was busy by using the proper indicator signs installed in the taxi. She said the company called Ms Lim and apologised for the incident.
The New Paper spoke to a few cabbies for their views on the incident.
Mr Low Hock Meng, 52, said he would 'definitely stop' if he had seen the Lims.
But, he added: 'Cases like this are tough to call. You have to see it from both sides - the passengers and the taxi drivers.'
Navin Vijay Wadhwani, newsroom intern --------------------------------------------0000000000000000------------------------- i guess these goodus cabs know from tampines to CGH is very near...boos
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If you are willing to admit faults, you have one less fault to admit.
If only Mr. Low Hock Meng was there. If only Mr. Low Hock Meng is everywhere. By the way, we would like to know how many Mr. Low Hock Mengs are there on the road willing to pick up sick passengers especially if they are not going to be interviewed by TNP. Sorry, I am not being sarcastic but cynical on the response.
But generally, I strongly belief our bros here would not behave like the 2 taxis drivers mentioned and will stop to pick the sick person. I would too.
Just a complaint against 2 bad drivers out of more than 40,000 active drivers and it's reported by the media for several days. When we go beyond our call of duty and complimented by commuters, all there will be is a small column of only a few lines. WTF!!!
gd thing dont travel. bad thing travel half or sometimes the whole world.
when i pick-up old ppl to hospital, i dont collect money from them. this dont happened all the time, i can afford that few dollars lah.
Agree with u. Good deeds never get mentioned. I have lost count of the number of free trips I've given to those who genuinely need it, it easily exceeded 50 trips but not even once did any of these free trip paxs called-up the company to give their compliments. It won't stop me from giving free trips but it will still depend on the situation. By offering a little help, you can achieve a very good and satisfying feeling in return. True, we drive a taxi to earn a living but foregoing a few dollars here and there won't hurt our income too much.
call for a ambulance and if it dont appear in 5 mins ring the TNP la... why take cab? cheap si bo??? why wahck cabbies unstop for the last few days?? why not good deed done?
Like i've posted before, why is the cabbie that willing to send them not being mention and given the due compliment??? Why? Why? Are we being taken for granted that sending them is our "duty"?
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Life's too short and Unpredictable, Treasure and Love what you got.
Once I picked up a man suffering from asthma attack at Terminal 1.His son & daughter cut queue and beg me to take them to hospital, when other drivers ignored them and busy picking up long queue of pax at the arrival bay. I told them Airport got clinic and doctor. She said "no! no! no". I sped along PIE and said "Changi Hospital". She said "buay sai, buay sai". "go SGH, kwai tian(faster)." The father condition worsened and was breathing very heavily. PIE traffic heavy and my heart also pumped faster like the man breathing. Then I suggested East shore Hospital just one turn away. She got angry and said "don't talk too much,just go SGH"
PIE heavy traffic and I stayed lane 1 all the way. The man was having difficulty,seems like going to die. The daughter said "uncle, can you drive faster or not,my father is going to die." The atmosphere in the cab was like if the man die,then it is my fault not to arrive SGH in time.Luckily arrived SGH.They went in and forgot to pay.I had to park my cab properly first,got out then went in the A&E to ask for payment.Not a word of thanks from them. 20 mins of horrifying drive in my life.
Next time,something like happen again,I"ll buat bodoh (act blurr), I taking break or going home already.
Call me names,whatever you like, I'll think twice before playing Santa Claus or hero on the road.
gd thing dont travel. bad thing travel half or sometimes the whole world.
when i pick-up old ppl to hospital, i dont collect money from them. this dont happened all the time, i can afford that few dollars lah.
Agree with u. Good deeds never get mentioned. I have lost count of the number of free trips I've given to those who genuinely need it, it easily exceeded 50 trips but not even once did any of these free trip paxs called-up the company to give their compliments. It won't stop me from giving free trips but it will still depend on the situation. By offering a little help, you can achieve a very good and satisfying feeling in return. True, we drive a taxi to earn a living but foregoing a few dollars here and there won't hurt our income too much.
50 trips you give free or discount rides,nothing happen, 1 trip you overcharge,you're in trouble. Only taxi drivers and their families will understand our grievances
A mother and her son boarded my cab n was told to go to KK children hospital.
She was claim throughout the journey n we talk about general things..only later did I know that her son sustained a fall n was not feeling very well .....vomitting..she had sought her GP's treatment earlier but did not improve therefore she decided to seek another doctor's advise...btw..she brought a plastic bag just in case her son threw up..phew !
I knew it was quite serious looking at the boy...very weak n while I confirmed his synptoms
What I am trying to say here is how urgent or emmergency the situation maybe.. if you do not have your own transport...
Calling a cab is one the best options.... speedy n realiable...notice I said CALL n not hail a cab from the road side
If it is all that urgent..hailing a cab from the street does not gurantee one when you want one...
We have heard many a times ..why are there no cabs when you want one or we waited 30 mins....and etc...
Time is always the essence n very crucial... every minute is critical....it can mean life or .............
So why hope for a cab to come your way when you are gambling your time waiting n fighting time to save your loved ones
If all else fails.... calling for an ambulance is your last resort
Sometimes I think it is not fair to us ... the service providers... we get lashes from left and right..whether we did right or we did wrong....
Let's remember.. to put your priorities n urgency in their perspective ..and we will react accordingly n dont blame others if your loved ones failed to reach help on time
bro donsan... The atmosphere in the cab was like if the man die,then it is my fault not to arrive SGH in time.They went in and forgot to pay..Not a word of thanks from them. 20 mins of horrifying drive in my life
if the man die, u will be in the front page!!! with this headlines "Taxi Uncle drives Slow causing The Death of An Sickman"
some paxs comes onboard and say they r late and call us to rush for them, drive faster. IS IT OUR FAULT THAT THEY R LATE?? not at all!!!!!! if its a matter of life and death, our cab DONT HAVE FLASH LIGHTS AND SIREN!!!!! no vehicles on the road will gives way to us!!!! MOST OF THEM HATE TAXI!!!
Our VL is for us to make a living not to pay fines and our family to eat biscuits.. my wife and sons needs food too...
bro donsan... The atmosphere in the cab was like if the man die,then it is my fault not to arrive SGH in time.They went in and forgot to pay..Not a word of thanks from them. 20 mins of horrifying drive in my life
if the man die, u will be in the front page!!! with this headlines "Taxi Uncle drives Slow causing The Death of An Sickman"
some paxs comes onboard and say they r late and call us to rush for them, drive faster. IS IT OUR FAULT THAT THEY R LATE?? not at all!!!!!! if its a matter of life and death, our cab DONT HAVE FLASH LIGHTS AND SIREN!!!!! no vehicles on the road will gives way to us!!!! MOST OF THEM HATE TAXI!!!
Our VL is for us to make a living not to pay fines and our family to eat biscuits.. my wife and sons needs food too...
Bro,
We hear this everday
I am running late.. I am in a hurry .. I am late for my appoinment..
I have an hour before the flight leaves....
This is what I mean by priority n urgency...... no sense of planning at all...
It is not our fault if you are late...start early then....every second or minute..road condition changes like ink unto water...a split second can mean a nasty accident or not being to pass the traffic light or getting caught in a jam...
And to try and ensure we have a safe journey...my reply.." I will try my best provided road conditions favor our route "
Quote by me.cabby:" I will try my best provided road conditions favor our route ".
I think the key phrase here is "I will try my best". We try, and we ourselves know what's our best. Yes, it's not our fault/problem if the pax are late for their work/appt/flight/etc... But when we assure them that we will try our best, i think that's all they want to hear. Being a professional on the road, we should feel confident, knowing that we are the best out there, so even when the pax know they will still be late, they are getting the best out of us and it's the best they'll ever get. And for those pax who don't realise that, i have nothing to say to them for i know i am the best out there and i've deliver the best, hence please pay the fare shown on the meter and get out of my cab.
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Life's too short and Unpredictable, Treasure and Love what you got.
I sympathise with you. It will not be your problem if something happened to the father during the asthma attack. You have suggested correctly to bring them to Changi Hospital or Eastshore which is so much nearer than SGH. Obviously the daughter thought the doctors in Changi and Eastshore are not good enough to save her father. If something really serious happened to their father, you can rest assured, you will not be blamed but the daughter and she will live the rest of her life in guilt for causing her father's condition. As for you, you have tried your best, and that's important.
This is good karma. When doing a good deed, do not expect anything in return. It will be returned many times over. Sometimes you may not be aware of the many returns in one way or another but the "feel-good" feeling will lighten your day and make you a happier person, I am sure of that.
Calling a cab is one the best options.... speedy n realiable...notice I said CALL n not hail a cab from the road side
If it is all that urgent..hailing a cab from the street does not gurantee one when you want one...
We have heard many a times ..why are there no cabs when you want one or we waited 30 mins....and etc...
Time is always the essence n very crucial... every minute is critical....it can mean life or .............
So why hope for a cab to come your way when you are gambling your time waiting n fighting time to save your loved ones
If all else fails.... calling for an ambulance is your last resort
Sometimes I think it is not fair to us ... the service providers... we get lashes from left and right..whether we did right or we did wrong....
-- Edited by mecabby at 00:18, 2008-12-14
-- Edited by mecabby at 00:24, 2008-12-14
hahaha,,, Well said Bro !!! But hor,,,,,, those cheapo pax,,,, will NEVER spend any extra $$$$$$$$$$$$$... and will COMPLAINT to the media abt the F*U*C*King taxi driver and the media will more then happy to print it ( especially Today & TNP) !!
