The first passengers that taxi driver Mohamad Nazaruddin picked up when he started his shift on Monday were a pregnant woman and her husband who needed to get to a hospital for a check-up.
Little did he know that he would get an additional passenger en route — a baby girl delivered right in his SMRT cab.
It was during the ride that the 39-year-old cabbie noticed the expecting lady — Ma.elena del Rosario Ortiz — was visibly in pain. Nazaruddin quickly switched his route to get to the nearest hospital, but the baby was already coming out. The infant was delivered right there and then even before they arrived at the hospital, and Nazaruddin provided much-needed advice and reassurance to the couple, including instructions on what they had to do to ensure the baby was fine.
When they did arrive at the hospital, the cabbie got help from the nurses and even waived the taxi fare for the parents of the newborn. Judging from the pictures uploaded on the SMRT Facebook page, the baby girl looks pretty healthy — and will certainly have a memorable origin story to tell her friends in the future.
“This is such an unforgettable and remarkable experience. I feel shocked and also overjoyed that my baby girl was born in a taxi,” Ma.elena said.
“My husband and I would like to thank Mr Mohammad for doing a good job to take care of our baby and reassure us that the baby is fine. It was very well done.”
As for Nazaruddin, he couldn’t be happier to have played a significant role in the birth of the child.
“I’m glad that I’m able to help them in terms of giving them advice on what to do with the baby and ensuring that the baby is safe. I hope that the family will be happy and joyous and wish them all the best.”
SMRT helped out by waiving the cabbie’s taxi rental for a day. Now the question is, does the girl get a lifetime of free rides on all SMRT public transport?
