Six Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) servicemen who had been charged in military court over the 2018 death of full-time national serviceman (NSF) Dave Lee have been sentenced, said the Ministry of Defence yesterday.
The six servicemen - two regulars and four operationally ready national servicemen (NSmen) - who were charged in February and pleaded guilty, were fined between $1,800 and $4,500.
Three of them were also demoted from the rank of third sergeant (NS) to corporal.
Corporal First Class (CFC) Dave Lee, who was 19 years old at the time and a guardsman from the 1st Battalion Singapore Guards, died on April 30, 2018, about two weeks after he was admitted to Changi General Hospital for heatstroke.
The case had sparked discussion on training safety and lapses in the SAF after Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen detailed in Parliament in August 2018 the preliminary findings over the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The military court proceedings came after Captain Tan Baoshu - the supervising officer in the 8km fast march after which the incident occurred - was given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal in January this year, after he was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer.
He had claimed trial after he was charged in the State Courts on Oct 31, 2018.
The Attorney-General's Chambers had determined that after the conclusion of police investigations, there were sufficient grounds to prosecute Tan under criminal law, said the Ministry of Defence.
Yesterday, Mindef said First Sergeant Chia Zhi Xuan, 25, was convicted of one charge of disobedience of general orders under Section 21 of the SAF Act and fined $2,500.
The regular serviceman was the conducting officer for a training run held a day before the fast march in which CFC Lee participated, and he had made unauthorised deviations from the run's lesson plan.
Another regular, Second Sergeant Koh Ren Zhong, 26, who was the safety officer for the fast march, was convicted of one charge of negligent performance of a lawful duty under Section 17(2) of the SAF Act and fined $1,800. He had originally faced one charge of committing a negligent act endangering life under Section 41(b) of the SAF Act.
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First Sergeant Chia Zhi Xuan, 25
• Convicted of one charge of disobedience of general orders under Section 21 of the SAF Act.
• Fined $2,500.
Second Sergeant Koh Ren Zhong, 26
• Convicted of one charge of negligent performance of a lawful duty under Section 17(2) of the SAF Act.
• Fined $1,800.
Corporal (NS) Chng Pheng Heng, 22 Corporal (NS) Jonas Ang Kai Jie, 24 Corporal (NS) Yep Ren Jie, 22
• Each convicted of one charge of disobedience of general orders under Section 21 of the SAF Act and one charge of abuse of authority under Section 29 of the Act.
• Each fined $2,500 and demoted from third sergeant to corporal.
Corporal (NS) Tan Jin Yang, 24
• Convicted of two charges of negligent acts endangering life under Section 41(b) of the SAF Act.
• Fined a total of $4,500 for both charges.
Three NSmen section commanders who meted out unauthorised punishment the day before the fast march were each fined $2,500 and demoted from third sergeant to corporal. They are Corporal (NS) Chng Pheng Heng, 22; Corporal (NS) Jonas Ang Kai Jie, 24; and Corporal (NS) Yep Ren Jie, 22.
They were each convicted of one charge of disobedience of general orders under Section 21 of the SAF Act and one charge of abuse of authority under Section 29 of the Act.
Initially, they had each faced three charges - two charges of disobedience of general orders and one charge of abuse of authority.
Corporal (NS) Tan Jin Yang, 24, also an NSman and the medic for the fast march, was convicted of two charges of negligent acts endangering life under Section 41(b) of the SAF Act. He was fined a total of $4,500 for both charges.
The police had referred the six servicemen to Mindef to investigate potential breaches of military law. The servicemen were charged in military court after the SAF's Special Investigation Branch concluded its investigations.
Tan Baoshu, 33, died on Feb 13 this year following his cancer diagnosis. He had been charged with causing the death of CFC Lee by performing a rash act, including failing to evacuate the victim in a timely manner, and accused of disallowing the treatment that CFC Lee needed.
Dr Ng said in August 2018 that a preliminary assessment found the likely reasons for CFC Lee succumbing to heatstroke to be inadequate on-site casualty management and delayed evacuation to the medical centre.
The minister had also said that CFC Lee and his platoon mates were punished for about 30 minutes the night before the fast march because two soldiers had used their mobile phones after lights out.
The punishment for perceived lack of teamwork involved the entire platoon. The soldiers were made to do physical exercises such as leopard crawls, push-ups and crunches.
Earlier that day, CFC Lee also did an interval training run at a faster pace than he was required to, with a shorter rest time between laps.
This was a breach of training safety regulations.
Dr Ng said then that the reason given for these deviations was that the commanders wanted to enhance fitness and foster greater cohesion by keeping the platoon intact.
