Lieutenant Tiffany Neo thought it was mission accomplished when her team had successfully extricated the body of the fatal accident victim on Dec 8. But when told by police that there was at least one person trapped on board the private bus, she immediately returned to the vehicle.

Testifying on the eighth day of the public hearing on the riot, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) commander led the committee through her team's rescue of the bus driver and timekeeper, helped by video footage captured of the bus' interior.

The video clip showed Lt Neo shielding bus driver Lee Kim Huat's head with her hands, as items whizzed by the bus. As Mr Lee ducked for cover, Lt Neo could be seen standing over him and shielding him.

Earlier, Lt Neo had broke with protocol to remove the body from the accident scene, which led committee member G Pannir Selvam to commend her: "Common sense on that day was a rare commodity, and I'm sure they (committee members) all join me in commending you."