The Thai teen girl who lost both legs in a Singapore MRT accident six years ago has won a prestigious job from a pool of thousands of applicants. The new position is “observing patient happiness” — a gig that will pay the sky-high salary of THB1 million (about SGD40,820) per month.
On Saturday, it was announced on local talk show At Ten that Nitcharee “Than” Pen-eakchanasak, now 20, has been hired by the World Medical Hospital, on the outskirts of Bangkok on a six-month contract, reported Sanook.
As the observer of patient happiness, Nitchanee will check in with hospital residents daily to ask about their days, offer support during recovery, and inquire about what could make their treatment more pleasant.
In April 2011, Nitcharee “Than” Pen-eakchanasak, 14 at the time, fell onto the tracks of Ang Mo Kio MRT Station in Singapore, where she had been spending the summer taking English lessons.
Nitchanee had to have both legs amputated. In 2013, Nitchanee’s family filed a$3.4 million lawsuit against SMRT and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) for negligence but unfortunately lost. An appeal against the court ruling was summarily dismissed, but the two authorities did not pursue the costs of the trial out of goodwill.
Nitchanee has continued her education at Thammasat University, studying journalism and mass communication. Not letting her prosthetic legs discourage her, she has given many inspirational speeches to the public.
According to the hospital, there were thousands of applicants from different fields, including psychology, life coaching, and journalism. Nitchanee was selected because of her positivity — despite her disability, she always has a smile on her face and has continued to participate in charitable work.
While Nitchanee’s monthly salary seems like a lot (and it is), it’s almost all likely going to be going toward her current most pressing need: a new pair of prosthetic legs. Her current set needs replacing and the new ones are not cheap, with an estimated cost of about THB5 million (SGD204, 101).
Story by Coconuts Bangkok; Additional reporting by Coconuts Singapore
