Three Cabinet members who are doctors rushed to help Heng Swee Keat when he collapsed

SINGAPORE — Three Cabinet members who are doctors rushed to help Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat when he collapsed during a meeting on Thursday (May 12), and the incident left the team shaken, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said. 

Dr Ng, who is trained as a cancer surgeon, is understood to be one of the three who came to Mr Heng’s aid before the ambulance arrived. 

The others were Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, an ophthalmologist before he entered politics, and Minister of State (Education, and Communications and Information) Janil Puthucheary, a paediatrician, TODAY understands. Acting Education Minister (Schools) Ng Chee Meng said the three doctors accompanied Mr Heng to the hospital. 

Writing on Facebook on Thursday night, Dr Ng Eng Hen said: “Cabinet colleagues are expectedly shaken because Swee Keat collapsed suddenly during our meeting this afternoon. We managed to resuscitate him, but he and his family will now need all our prayers and support as he undergoes critical procedures and treatment for the stroke.” 

Social and Family Development Minister Tan Chuan-Jin said the Cabinet was “in the midst of our discussions when it suddenly happened”. 

National Development Minister Lawrence Wong described the incident as “so sudden, and came as a complete shock” while Acting Education Minister (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung added: “Colleagues in the Cabinet are all very affected by what happened.”