I read with sadness that another one of our soldiers has died in the course of duty (SAF regular hit by falling branch dies in Brunei; Oct 10).

While I extend my deepest condolences to the grieving family of late Third Warrant Officer (3WO) Muhammad Sadikin Hasban, I would also like to commend the personnel of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) on the ground in Brunei and back here at the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) for two wise decisions they made, following the incident.

One, my godson, who was with the training troops in Brunei, called his parents on the same night to inform them of the tragedy and that he was fine.

He said that all the national servicemen had been instructed to call home.

I believe that this pre-empted much anxiety that other families would have undergone had they not heard from their sons in Brunei and found out about the tragedy from the media.

Two, my godson also told his parents that training was suspended for a few days.

I believe this was also a wise move as it would allow the boys who must have been shocked, if not traumatised, by the incident to pay their respects and grieve the loss of 3WO Sadikin, who was well-liked by those who were under him.

Thank you, SAF and Mindef.

Lim Boon Seng