Saving Life of a Baby: 2 Bangladeshis awarded in Singapore

The awardees -- Shamim Patwari, 24, and Mostafa Kamal, 37 -- work as cleaners in the northern part of Bedok Reservoir in the country, reported The New Paper.

Earlier this month, they rescued an abandoned child from a rubbish chute.

Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC) in Singapore awarded the duo with certificates of recognition.

The Bangladeshis received “MWC Commendation Award” and Fair Price vouchers worth $500 each.

Yeo Guat Kwang, chairman of MWC, said the migrant workers went out of their way to help others.

“Such deeds should not go unnoticed,” he added.

Shamim, who spoke to The New Paper through a translator, said he did not expect anything of this sort and did not even tell his family members in Bangladesh about the incident.

“We have done something good and saved the life of a baby. We hope that this will encourage more people to help others in need,” he said.

THE WAY THEY SAVED THE BABY

It began with a soft crying sound and ended with the Bangladeshi migrant workers saving the life of the newborn, according to a report of The Straits Times.

It was the morning of January 7.

As Shamim and Mostafa drove a buggy to collect rubbish bins from a refuse chute chamber in Bedok, they heard crying in one of the bins.

Shamim thought he had misheard and asked his colleague. Mostafa had also heard it and said it was probably a discarded toy doll with its batteries still intact.

In a decision that could well have decided the baby’s fate, Shamim, who was driving, stopped the buggy for Mostafa to check the bin.

When Mostafa opened the bin, a sheet of newspaper was on top. Below it was a supermarket plastic bag that looked wet and bloody. He stepped back in shock.

Something in the bag had moved.

Shamim decided to look for himself and he could see tiny limbs thrashing inside the bag.

He called their supervisor. When he arrived, they opened the bag.

Shamim saw a naked male infant lying in a small pool of water with blood on his body.

“Usually, we would just throw the plastic bag away. We have found dolls before that made crying sounds.

“But the crying coming from inside the bag was now very loud and it made me scared,” Shamim said.

Part of the baby’s umbilical cord was still attached, he said.

The supervisor immediately called the police and Shamim went back to the bin centre to grab a piece of cloth to clean and wrap the baby.

When paramedics checked the baby, he was in stable condition and had no visible injuries. He was later taken to a hospital.

Shamim said it was his first experience of such a situation in his four years of working in Singapore.

The baby boy was in stable condition in hospital, The Straits Times reported on Wednesday, citing Singapore Ministry of Social and Family Development.

At least six women had expressed desire to care for or adopt the abandoned baby boy while police was in search for his biological parents, according to media reports.