PUBLISHED ONJuly 11, 2026 11:40 PMBYSean LerWhat do you do when you see someone who needs help?
This simple question may not always get a straightforward answer, especially if it involves inconveniencing oneself to help another.
But stepping forward was what Singaporean entrepreneur Kai Emilio chose when he came across an elderly driver whose van was stuck in the mud while making a delivery at a pasar malam in Yishun on Friday (July 10).
The 27-year-old entrepreneur, who is operating a stall at the night market, told AsiaOne that he was having his lunch break at a nearby eatery when he noticed the situation unfolding.
According to Kai, there were already others who had tried to help push the van out of the mud but they were unsuccessful.
"I guess they just weren't communicating well, or maybe they didn't push at the same time. So they needed someone (to coordinate)," he said.
@asiaone Despite getting themselves muddy and dirty, 27-year-old Kai Emilo rallied strangers at a pasar malam in Yishun to get an elderly driver's van unstuck from the mud. #sgnews #Singapore #Kindness #Help ♬ original sound - AsiaOne
When Kai reached the scene, he called out to students at the basketball court nearby and fellow vendors to come forward and try again.
Though they did not succeed at first, Kai was seen in a video rallying them to try again as the driver engaged the van's gear in drive and reversed a few times.
"Let's go brothers, together. Let's help this uncle get his van over," he said.
This time, it worked, as the bunch timed their push to the van's forward momentum as the driver engaged his gear in drive.
As the van came unstuck, Kai and those who helped cheered though their shoes were evidently muddy and dirty by then.
"Was this worth it?", Kai asked the teens and they replied: "Yes."
Kai told AsiaOne that the moment felt like a "kampong" coming together, with those by the side cheering them on as they rallied to push the van out.
He also treated those who stepped forward to help with a jar of Kool-Aid Pineapple that he is selling at the night market.
Asked why he chose to step forward, Kai said: "I just felt at that moment like, hey, you know what?
"The world is a good place. It can be a better place. It is a good place. We just have to believe in it more, and you know, start seeing that we have to change our perspective on life."
Kai's TikTok post showing the incident received over 90k views in 20 hours.
Reflecting his belief shared in the interview, Kai wrote in the post's caption: "Helping one person may not change the world. But it can at the very least change that one person's world."
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