S’porean Saved 5 Teens from Downing in Johor But Felt Guilty That He Didn’t Save the Last One

Heroism, while it is a cornerstone value of a gracious society, is hard to come by.

It’s one thing to say that you’ll help someone in need, but it’s another to actually do it. 

When we are placed in the situation itself, many either resort to calling the relevant authorities or just turning a blind eye.

Rarely do we see people proactively jumping in to help.

When we do, it’s best to learn from it. 

Singaporean Father Saves 5 Malaysian Teens from Drowning

A Singaporean father-of-two selflessly jumped into waters to save five Malaysian teens from Drowning. 

During the September school holidays on 9 September, the self-employed man, Mr Xie, was on a trip to a Johor coastal resort area with his wife and kids. They had plans to visit the Adventure Waterpark Desaru Coast but had arrived before the waterpark opened. 

Since they had spare time on their hands, they decided to travel further up to stroll along the Tanjung Balau beach

At around 8:40am, as they were enjoying their walk on a bridge, they heard a commotion. 

When they turned to look, they saw a large group of 30 to 40 people gathered on the beach, shouting.

At the sea, they noticed five or six teenagers but thought lightly of them, assuming that they were merely play-fighting.

Suddenly, they observed as one of the bodies slowly disappeared underwater. That was when they recognised the severity of the issue.

Without hesitation, Xie took off his shirt and jumped into the water to save them (Xie used to play water polo and is a strong swimmer).

The man’s wife, Ms Li, shared that there were three girls in the water holding on to a life buoy. As for two others, a boy and a girl, they were struggling as they got carried away by the current and were separated from the group.

Xie swam towards them and pulled them back towards the beach. 

Others also joined in to help. 

A group of students found a boat and used wooden planks as makeshift oars to lift the teenagers back on the boat.

They managed to pull the two unconscious teens into the boat, and one student performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the boy. 

After getting the two on the boat, Xie swam back to the three girls on the life buoy and guided them to safety. 

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Aftermath

Emergency rescue personnel arrived shortly after and sent the boy to the hospital. 

Unfortunately, it was revealed that there was another girl in the group who was missing. 

Xie was racked with guilt as he felt that he should have jumped in earlier to save her.

“I could only comfort him by saying that he’d done his best,” Li said.

The body of the missing 13-year-old girl was found later that afternoon in Kota Tinggi. She has been confirmed dead and her body has been handed over to the police. 

Although Xie didn’t manage to rescue all the victims, his act is still an admirable one of heroism. 

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Featured Image: Zaobao