Noice, somebody really did hand this boy a medal. For embodying heroism and generally having a heart of gold, 12-year-old Ashvin Gunasegaran was presented with the Public Spiritedness Award by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
The Yishun Primary School student was slingshotted into nationwide fame earlier this week after a viral Facebook post made by her sister. Witnessing a traffic accident on Tuesday, he was the only one who bothered to provide immediate help while others (adults included) simply whipped out their mobile phones to take pictures.
“No one was helping them. At the same time, no one was screaming for help and I was worried,” the boy said. SCDF also noted that Ashvin had also stayed with the accident victims — both women — until the ambulance arrived, as he wanted to make sure they were fine.
Yesterday afternoon, Ashvin dropped by Yishun Fire Station with his proud mother and sister and was conferred the award by LTC Eric Chua, the Commander of 3rd SCDF Division himself.
“You are never too young to be somebody who renders a helping hand,” said LTC Chua. “Ashvin is just all of 12 grand years in age and I’m very surprised, in fact, and very happy that he has stepped forward.”
