Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) said in a social media post that will it work with vendor partners to reinforce the hospital’s values of mutual respect and the safety and well-being of everyone in our hospital.
TikTok user Benedict Yeo’s video of an AETOS security officer being disrespectful to an elderly, immobile man has gone viral. Yeo said that he was sending his wife to work when he chanced upon the interaction between the AETOS security officer and the family of the elderly man near the drop off point at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. The incident happened on the night of 24th February.
The 2-minute video showed an elderly man being carried by his son to a wheelchair provided by the hospital which was brought over by another man. The older man looked frail and was slow in getting onto the wheelchair safely and comfortably. The family driving the elderly man to the hospital had parked their vehicle along the side of the road which had a single yellow zig-zag line.
Roads marked with a single yellow line indicate that parking is not allowed at all times on the side where it is drawn, except for the immediate picking up and letting down of passengers. Drivers who park on roads with a single yellow zig-zag line will receive 3 demerit points and be fined up to $300, depending on the type of vehicle.
The video showed the AETOS security officer getting visibly upset that the family was taking a longer time than usual and clapped twice to show his unhappiness. He seemed to not care when the family waved to him telling him that they needed more time to adjust the immobile, elderly man properly on the wheelchair. He gestured to the family to move the vehicle away. The security officer can be heard telling the family sternly, several times, to move the vehicle further down.
The security officer could also be heard in the video telling the the younger man helping the older man onto the wheelchair that his vehicle which was parked in a stationary manner and it would cause incoming cars to create a jam in the drop-off point to the hospital.
He could be heard saying: “But rule is rule, you go in front hor. Don’t park here!” An elderly woman who was also accompanying the older man got fed-up with the security officer at this point and can be heard saying: “I said sorry ok! I said sorry!”
@bendyeo87Why the security guard didn’t show some sympathy? ???. Single zigzag line can do immediate drop-off right?♬ original sound – Benedict Yeo
Many TikTok users who responded to Yeo’s video said that felt that the AETOS security officer could have shown some sympathy to the frail, elderly man and his family instead of trying to disrespectfully trying to enforce any rules. Others pointed out that the security officer was wrong in saying that the car which was dropping off the man was parked at the drop-off point to the hospital. The driver of the car can be clearly seen trying to help the older man get onto his wheelchair.
Yeo said in comments to his video that he will alert TTSH about the incident. TTSH responded quickly and firmly to the incident the next day. It said that the officer has been immediately removed from his duties at the hospital and that they are investigating further with AETOS.
It added: “Tan Tock Seng Hospital values mutual respect and the safety and well-being of everyone in our hospital. We will work with our vendor partners to reinforce these same values to their staff deployed here.” The hospital appreciated members of the public who alerted them to this incident.
Commenting on the incident involving its own auxiliary police officer on Friday, AETOS said that all of its officers are “expected to uphold high standards of professionalism and service excellence” in the course of their duties.
“We do not condone the officer’s conduct and will not hesitate to take the appropriate action when investigations are concluded,” it added in a Facebook post.