SINGAPORE - Master Sergeant (MSG) Harinderjit Singh had been driving his daughter to school on the morning of July 9, but pulled over at once when he noticed an elderly man lying unmoving on the road.

A large amount of blood had pooled on the ground around the man's head.

The soldier's six-year-old daughter watched from inside the car as her father rushed to the man's side and administered first aid - an action that may have saved Mr Md Ali Yakeen Shah's life.

"My first thought was to immediately render assistance to the individual who was lying motionless on the road," MSG Singh, 39, told The Straits Times in an e-mail interview on Wednesday (Aug 22).

Last month, ST reported that the police were alerted to the accident at the junction of Still Road and Changi Road involving a bicycle and motorcycle at 6.17am.

Mr Ali, 81, was unconscious when taken to Changi General Hospital, but is now recovering in hospital.

He had to be hospitalised in the intensive care unit for about two weeks after emergency surgery due to internal bleeding from his head injury.

An Aug 14 article posted on a Singapore Army website said that MSG Singh also managed the flow of traffic at the junction, and enlisted the help of three onlookers to call for an ambulance and the police.

He attributed his ability to handle the situation calmly to his military training.

"Our Army training requires us to deal with various forms of operations. It prepares us to cope well in all kinds of situations," he said.

After dropping off his daughter at school, MSG Singh headed to the hospital to check on Mr Ali, where he met the latter's daughter, Ms Darasiah Md Ali, who had rushed to the hospital upon hearing of her father's accident.

In the article, Ms Darasiah said that her family was extremely grateful to MSG Singh. "A thousand thanks will never be enough to reciprocate the help he extended to my dad," she said.