When the Taiwanese F-5F fighter jet crashed into the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF)'s storeroom in a military base in Hukou, Hsinchu county, Taipei, on May 11, it killed two Taiwanese pilots and two Singaporean soldiers, and injured nine other Singaporean servicemen. Two of them were in critical condition.

It was unfortunate that Lance Corporal Calvin Chow, who was seriously injured, has died, while the fourth casualty, Third Sergeant Ramakrishnan Karthigayan, is still in critical but stable condition.

When Singapore Airlines (SIA) Flight SQ006 crashed at Chiang Kai Shek International Airport on Oct 31, 2000, it killed 84 people and injured 64.

The investigation into the SQ006 crash has shown that some airport facilities were not up to international standards at the time of the tragedy. The markings on taxiway N1 leading to Runway 05L, the correct runway for take-off, did not meet international standards.

Nonetheless, SIA offered each of the families of the passengers and crew killed in the SQ006 crash US$400,000 (about $700,000) compensation. It also paid the medical expenses of the injured and discussed compensation with them.

In the case of the Taiwanese jet crash, no reason for the crash had yet been determined, although local media highlighted the age of the F-5F fleet, which has been in service since the 1970s, as a possible factor.

While Singapore's Ministry of Defence will provide a fair and reasonable compensation for servicemen and their families for the injury and loss of life based on its comprehensive compensation framework and in line with the principles applied by the civil courts in assessing compensation, should the Taiwan Defence Ministry not be liable for compensation to the victims of its plane crash?

Like SIA, the Taiwan Defence Ministry should be gracious enough to be responsible for the tragedy caused by its plane, regardless of the reasons.

Goh Kian Huat