Foreign workers at Sengkang bus stop lauded for using umbrellas to shelter commuters from rain

The foreign workers were armed with an umbrella each at a bus stop in Sengkang at around 10am on May 28, 2018. They had stationed themselves there to shelter commuters boarding buses due to the heavy rain. PHOTOS: FACEBOOK/WINSON HENG

SINGAPORE - As he alighted from the bus on the way home, financial adviser Winson Heng was expecting to be drenched in the rain.

Little did he expect a man to hold an umbrella for him, sheltering him from the rain.

Mr Heng, 27, was so touched by the gesture on Monday (May 28) that he posted about his experience on Facebook that same day.

The man who sheltered him was a foreign worker, whom Mr Heng believes was taking a break from work due to the heavy rain.

The unidentified worker was armed with an umbrella at the bus stop opposite Block 323B Sengkang East Way at around 10am.

He was accompanied by two colleagues, who stationed themselves at the front of the bus stop to shelter commuters boarding buses, said Mr Heng.

"Initially I thought maybe they were doing this as part of their job," Mr Heng told The Straits Times on Wednesday.

"But I saw other foreign workers who were sitting down and relaxing, so I realised the three men were actually not obliged to do this."

He added that he decided to stick around to observe the trio, and noticed that they would "faithfully" shelter people boarding and alighting.

"Even before the bus would stop, they would automatically go to the front and back of the bus to hold up the umbrella, which I thought was really amazing," said Mr Heng, who estimated that the workers were at it for a few hours.

To thank them for their kind gesture, Mr Heng said he bought four 1.5 litre bottles of 100Plus drinks.

"They just kept saying thank you, and from their posture I could tell that they were very paiseh," he said, using the Hokkien term for being embarrassed.

"I guess when they were doing this they weren't expecting any rewards. They were just doing it out of the goodness of their hearts."

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