'Offer help during emergency, instead of wanting video to go viral,' says doctor

That’s the advise given by Sarawak State Health Department Assistant Director Dr Dalvinder Singh who faced an emergency situation when the hand of a two-year-old got stuck at the bottom of an escalator located Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2).

The incident which happened on May 13 immediately went viral on social media.

Apart from airport staff, Dr Dalvinder offered help during the incident.

When contacted by Astro AWANI, Dr Dalvinder felt disappointed as onlookers were busy with their phones, recording the whole situation.

“At first around 20 people surrounded the child and his father. They were busy recording without offering any assistance.

“It is as if they were more interested to record the ‘dramas’ infront of them as the boy screamed and the father panicked while waiting for help,” he said.

Dr Dalvinder said the public does not need to know professional skills to help as any sort of assistance would do.

“First aid like CPR can be taught by the Red Crescent or online. This skill can be very useful during emergency. Just imagine if your loved ones need to depend on you during emergency.

"Apart from that, you can help by ensuring there is enough space for professional help to arrive, or give water and some comforting words to the victim. These are all common sense.

“You may not be able to help everybody, but helping just one person can make a huge difference,” he said.

Dr Dalvinder once again reminded that it is better for the public to use their devices to call for help instead of recording the situation.

During the incident, the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) received the emergency call at 8.48pm and arrived on location five minutes later.

The boy then was taken to the nearby clinic.

“As it happened so fast, I did not get the name of the victim or his father.