President Tharman meets migrant workers from sinkhole rescue

The workers who saved a woman from a sinkhole in Tanjong Katong Road South said they were glad to have helped a family get their loved one home safely.

Speaking to the media at the Istana on Aug 3, construction site foreman Pitchai Udaiyappan Subbiah said that the successful rescue of a life was the most rewarding thing from the incident.

"Because of us, a family is safe and happy (which) makes us very glad," Mr Subbiah, 46, said in Tamil. "The recognition we have received is more than enough."

Mr Subbiah and six other men had pulled out the woman, the driver of a black car that had fallen into the sinkhole, using a nylon rope.

The car the woman was driving had tumbled in at about 5pm on July 26, when a sinkhole formed at the junction of Tanjong Katong Road and Mountbatten Road, near the One Amber condominium.

The seven workers and their project manager, all of whom work for Ohin Construction, were invited by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam to the Istana's National Day open house on Aug 3.

Chatting with the workers outside his office, Mr Tharman was overheard saying: "You saved her life, thank you."

Mr Tharman and Mrs Jane Ittogi Shanmugaratnam also met 11 men involved in a rescue during a fire at a River Valley shophouse in April. Using scaffolding from a nearby construction site, the workers had rescued children who were stranded on a third-story ledge because of the blaze.

Mr Subbiah was among thousands of people who explored the Istana grounds during the open house to celebrate the nation's 60th birthday. The slight rain in the middle of the day did not stop visitors from strolling through the wooded landscape and enjoying its expansive lawns.

Among the activities that were on offer were face painting, inclusive sports like seated volleyball, as well as other arts and crafts. There were about 12,000 visitors as at noon.

Mr Subbiah, who has worked in Singapore for 22 years, said he was happy to explore the Istana as he had, till now, seen it only from the outside.

He previously saw Mr Tharman in 2005 at a community event in Teban Gardens, but was happy to meet the President as his invited guest.

Another of the seven, excavator operator Sathapillai Rajendran, told reporters he hopes more people will step forward to help others in times of need.

"I'm just very happy she is okay," said the 56-year-old.

Mr Tharman wished the workers well, and thanked them for their heroic acts. After the interaction, each of the workers received a memento of their visit to the Istana.

The memento - a pen bearing the presidential crest - is typically given to guests of the President as a keepsake for them to remember their visit, said the President's Office.

Following the sinkhole incident, migrant worker support organisation ItsRainingRaincoats launched a fund raiser for the workers involved in the rescue. It received more than $72,000 in public donations, which it will divide among the workers.

The organisation said it will hold a small gathering at its Henderson Road premises on Aug 10 to honour the workers, and to announce the disbursement of the funds raised to their bank accounts.

ItsRainingRaincoats had previously raised funds for the men who saved the children from the River Valley fire. Each of the 15 workers received around $3,770 of the $57,660 collected.