Kindness....... or the lack of it..

Wine and coffee trader Alan Wong slipped in the rain, fell and hit his head on the kerb on his way to the gymnasium.

Mr Wong, whose fall caused a disc between two vertebrae to be displaced. He could not move his arms and had to be operated on. -- CHEW SENG KIM

The 50-year-old lay immobilised on the ground, in excruciating pain, for 20 minutes before help came.
But he had not fallen in some deserted alley last Tuesday afternoon.
He was, in fact, in one of Singapore's oldest and most prestigious clubs, the Singapore Island Country Club (SICC), where the well-heeled pay more than $100,000 to become members.
Yet, members who saw him simply passed him by, he said. It was the club's staff who eventually came to his rescue.
Mr Wong was rushed to Mount Elizabeth Hospital and was operated on Thursday.
Speaking to The Sunday Times from his hospital bed yesterday, he said it was extraordinary that people who passed by him could leave him lying in the rain.
The bachelor, who joined the SICC as a junior member when he was 12, said: 'It's not as if it's normal for someone to be lying face down on the road in the rain. If it was someone else, I would have helped.' He recalled seeing three cars slow down in front of him and then drive away.
A woman parked her car beside him, emerged from the car, locked the door and walked off to the tennis centre at the SICC Bukit location in Sime Road. Mr Wong lay there until Mr Rahim Abusamah, 47, chanced upon him.
The swimming pool attendant helped him to his feet and took him to the swimming pool reception area. Together with gym executive Ramli Hussein, who is in his early 50s, Mr Rahim tended to Mr Wong.
They called an ambulance and stayed with Mr Wong until it arrived.
Mr Wong had this to say about those who helped and those who did not: 'The club members are not very caring, but the staff are great.'
His fall had caused a disc between two of his vertebrae to be displaced. As a result, he could not move his arms and suffered a sharp pain in his upper body.
During the three-hour operation, doctors removed the disc, took some bone from Mr Wong's hip to fashion part of a new disc and inserted a metal plate in his upper back.
His eldest sister, Mrs Anne Holloway, 55, said that doctors told her Mr Wong's recovery will take about three months. The housewife added that he will be able to go to the gym again.
Mr Wong's business partner, who wanted to be known only as Mr Yeo, said he was surprised that members had ignored the injured man.
He said: 'It's not as if it was in a dangerous area. It's a members-only club, so there should have been no fear of helping someone there.'
SICC general manager Yeo Khee Leng said the club has procedures in place to handle such medical emergencies. Some staff are qualified to administer first aid. An ambulance will be called and members who are doctors and present in the club will be asked to help.
Although he declined to comment on the behaviour of members, some members The Sunday Times spoke to were appalled.
Said housewife Felicia Chia, 37: 'Anyone who is in that state should be helped. It shows that it's a sad state of affairs in Singapore; we're the opposite of a gracious society.' Mrs Mary Lee, 49, a teacher and SICC member for more than a decade, agreed: 'The people who didn't help care only for themselves.'
Despite his experience, Mr Wong said he would continue going to the club. 'I have been a member here for a long time. I just want to put the whole incident behind me.'

Haiz......