Eighteen-year-old Too Hui Min had complained of a stomach upset on Wednesday during firearms training at a jungle camp in Selangor and died soon after she was taken to a hospital.

Officials said a colon infection was the cause of her death. She was the 16th trainee to die since the National Service training began four years ago, prompting renewed calls for the character-building programme for young people to be scrapped.

Her father, Mr Too Jong Sing, said the family were seeking legal redress because they did not believe she died of a colon infection. He said she did not have any health problem.

The Health Ministry has said it was still investigating the death.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak has insisted that the training programme will continue, but the government plans to send all trainees for medical check-ups at public and private hospitals.

At present, trainees only need to make a declaration of their health status before they join the three-month programme.

Officials have said that previous deaths at camps were mostly due to illnesses beyond trainers' control.

National Service is mandatory for 17- and 18-year-old high school graduates, but the recruits are chosen at random by the government.

The programme aims to instil discipline, patriotism and a sense of racial unity in teenagers, but has often been criticised for alleged disciplinary problems and lack of supervision.

ASSOCIATED PRESS