SINGAPORE - An army officer who helped mediate for a full-time national serviceman (NSF) being scolded by an angry member of the public has been singled out for praise by the Singapore Army.

Lieutenant (LTA) Dionel Arun, 25, a platoon commander in the Singapore Guards' 3rd Battalion, was returning home on the MRT when he witnessed the misunderstanding, and quickly intervened.

The Facebook post, which was put up by the Singapore Army on Friday night, has attracted more than 5,000 likes and been shared close to 400 times. The incident first came to light after it was posted on social media by the anonymous NSF on April 3.

The NSF explained that he had accidentally spilt water near a woman sitting in front of him on the MRT, and she reacted by angrily rebuking him.

A man then came up to defuse the situation and helped the NSF clean up the water.

The man turned out to be LTA Dionel, who was quoted in the Singapore Army's post as saying: "As a commander, I believe we are responsible for our soldiers whether in or out of camp, in or out of uniform and regardless of the unit."