An army captain in charge of an 8km fast march after which a soldier died of heatstroke was yesterday charged with causing the death by performing a rash act, including failing to evacuate the victim in a timely manner.
Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) captain Tan Baoshu, 30, is also accused of disallowing the necessary treatment which full-time national serviceman Dave Lee, 19, needed after collapsing following the march on the morning of April 18 at Bedok Camp.
Corporal First Class (CFC) Lee died on April 30, about two weeks after he was admitted to Changi General Hospital.
Tan, then the Officer Commanding of Support Company, 1st Guards Battalion, was the supervising officer of the march that day.
Police said in a statement yesterday that six other SAF servicemen who were involved in the incident have been referred to the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) for investigations. Two are regular servicemen, while four are operationally ready national servicemen.
Responding to queries from The Straits Times, Mindef said Tan has been suspended from service pending the outcome of court proceedings. Tan is represented by lawyer Eunice Chua and is out on bail of $10,000. He will be back in court on Nov 28. If convicted of causing CFC Lee's death by performing a rash act, he can be jailed for up to five years and fined.
Mindef issued a statement yesterday saying it will defer its internal proceedings against the six servicemen until after the conclusion of the criminal proceedings against Tan so as to prevent any prejudice arising from parallel proceedings.
A Committee of Inquiry was convened by the Armed Forces Council on May 2 to investigate the circumstances leading to the incident, while police also conducted independent investigations.
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SAF personnel charged in the past
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2015
Former master sergeant Lee Kong Kean was sentenced to six months in jail for ordering a full-time national serviceman (NSF) who had no licence or training to drive a jeep, and for trying to cover up the incident that led to a soldier's death. NSF Third Sergeant Tan Mou Sheng, 20, was killed when the jeep overturned during an exercise in May 2012.
2013
The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) decided not to prosecute anyone after Private Dominique Sarron Lee Rui Feng, 21, died of an allergic reaction in 2012 after an exercise where smoke grenades were used. The coroner found the reaction was unlikely to have been predicted, among other findings. However, army officers Najib Hanuk Muhamad Jalal and Chia Thye Siong were charged under military law in November 2013 with breaching safety regulations, following the AGC's decision.
2011
Lance Corporal Eugin Wee Yong Choon, 20, was killed when a truck reversed into him in 2011. Theophilus Richardson Lai Tian En, who was behind the wheel, was later fined $3,000 for causing death by a negligent act.
Apart from Lai, the supervising officer involved was not prosecuted by the AGC as there was insufficient evidence. He was charged under military law with failing to ensure that the serviceman kept a safe distance away from the vehicle.
2006
Second Sergeant Ong Jia Hui, 24, drowned during training on June 15, 2005, off Changi Naval Base. The AGC referred the four instructors involved to Mindef for "action under military law". It found no legal grounds for preferring criminal charges against them.
Lim Min Zhang
Mindef said: "SAF personnel who conduct unauthorised activities or who wilfully or negligently fail to comply with training safety regulations will be severely dealt with and prosecuted under military law... or under criminal law before the civil courts."
In August, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen told Parliament that relevant persons involved in the incident have been removed from command and could face criminal charge or military prosecution.
The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) has, in the past, referred servicemen to the SAF to be prosecuted under military law when it found insufficient grounds for prosecution in the criminal courts.
In 2012, after Private Dominique Sarron Lee Rui Feng died due to an allergic reaction following the use of smoke grenades in training, the AGC decided not to prosecute anyone, as the coroner found that the reaction was unlikely to have been predicted, among other findings.
However, two SAF officers involved were charged under military law in November 2013 for breaching safety regulations following the AGC's decision not to prosecute.
