A month ago, my father encountered a victim of cardiac arrest while jogging at the Botanic Gardens.

The bystanders were clueless about how to help. My father immediately did cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the man and saved his life.

It is worrying that only 13.8 per cent of victims of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests survive (Doc on mission to boost CPR training; April 5).

Immediate CPR will increase the chances of survival to up to 50 per cent. But 70 per cent of citizens here do not know CPR.

The solution is to train more people in CPR. We should make CPR training compulsory in all secondary schools, junior colleges and polytechnics.

Students can easily perform simple procedures like the head tilt and chin lift to unblock the airway of the victim.

Those who do not have the muscular strength to perform chest compressions can use their knowledge to guide an adult to perform it.

The earlier we train more people in CPR, the faster we can render help and save more lives.

Au Eong Tyen Haan, 15

Secondary 3 Student