A MALAYSIAN woman working in Singapore recently compared how she was treated at the Singaporean and Malaysian immigration checkpoints while heading to the hospital to give birth.
Kai Ling Cheng shared on Facebook that she was 38 weeks pregnant while maneuvering through both immigration checkpoints to ensure that she gives birth to her child in Malaysia.
She said that her water broke unexpectedly in the morning and immediately prepared for the long arduous journey to the hospital in Johor Bahru from the Woodlands checkpoint.
As she arrived at the checkpoint, she found a larger crowd than usual but was determined to birth her child in Malaysia.
“The doctor told me that I need to go to the hospital right away if my water broke or if fetal movement decreases.
“I can still prepare for labor pains, but I have to go to the Singapore checkpoint which can take a long time (everyone who has taken the bus knows that it is no problem for ordinary people, but for pregnant women who are giving birth?),” Ling Cheng said.
She then rushed to a Singapore Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer and told them about her situation. Feeling a sense of urgency, the officer immediately expedited her journey to the hospital.
“The Singaporean officer was really awesome. Counter 3-4 immediately helped to scan our passports and prepare the wheelchair. My husband and I were shocked at that moment. They also kept asking if we needed an ambulance.,” she added.
She mentioned that as the immigration officer was pushing her wheelchair, a large path was cleared just to ensure she gets to the bus quickly.
Both officers flagged down an empty bus and instructed the driver to take both Ling Cheng and her husband to the Malaysian checkpoint and she added that the bus driver was “too nervous” that he forgot to collect his bus fare.
The Malaysian checkpoint had such a stark difference, as when she arrived, she explained to the officer her situation and the officer went to look for her colleague to discuss the issue “for a long time”.
Another officer approached her and asked “What’s the matter?” to which Ling Cheng reiterated her situation but the officer did not let her pass through and asked her who was the previous officer that approached her.
“The officer asked me why I did not go looking for them. I had to go so far to scan my passport too,” she explained.
She then asked if they had a wheelchair to which the officer simply responded “don’t have” and had to walk a long way through the crowd for a ride to the hospital.
After a grueling two hours, Ling Cheng finally arrived at the Columbia Asia Hospital in Iskandar Puteri, Johor where she gave birth to a healthy child.
