Sengkang MP Jamus Lim in hospital with pneumonia

SINGAPORE – What began as a noticeable sniffle in Parliament last week has escalated into a hospital stay for Sengkang MP Jamus Lim, who was admitted for “full-blown” pneumonia after catching Influenza A.

In a Facebook post on the morning of Oct 12, the Workers’ Party MP said he had initially intended to take only the remainder of the week off.

However, Lim said he had to check into a hospital over the weekend after his blood oxygen level fell to the low 90s. Blood oxygen saturation, or SpO2, is typically between 95% and 100% in healthy individuals.

Lim’s post did not indicate how long he would remain in hospital.

Addressing his Anchorvale residents, he referred to a video of himself sniffling away during a parliament sitting on Oct 6.

In the clip, Lim can be seen sniffling while delivering a speech. PAP MP Diana Pang (Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC) then comes to his aid with a tissue.

In his post, Lim said: “As it turns out, that sniffling eventually developed into a bad case of Influenza A, before culminating in full-blown pneumonia.

“All that to say, while I’m still stuck here, I am unable to attend to my regular MP duties. This includes tonight’s meet-the-people session (MPS), as well as our weekly house visits, estate walks, and coffeeshop chit-chats.

“My capable #TeamSengkang volunteers have kindly agreed to #StepUp, and so MPS will go ahead as usual. In the meantime, I’ll do what I can on the back end to clear all appeal letters and to catch up on my e-mail backlog, but I thank you for your patience in the meantime.”

The post was accompanied by a photo of a sign that read: “Temporarily Out of Service.”