The Bionix armoured vehicle which collided into the Land Rover driven by Corporal First Class Liu Kai, leading to his death, did not stop reversing despite repeated commands for its driver to do so, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen told Parliament yesterday.
The Land Rover also stopped about 10m closer behind the Bionix Infantry Fighting Vehicle than the stipulated safety distance of 30m, before the Bionix started reversing, said Dr Ng.
An independent Committee of Inquiry (COI), as well as the police, are looking into whether the communications equipment used by the Bionix crew was working properly at the time, he said, adding that the servicemen involved have been redeployed to non-operational roles.
The minister was sharing the preliminary findings of the COI, which was convened to look into the incident.
Dr Ng said the COI was able to piece together a "detailed chronology" from the recordings of the Land Rover's front and in-vehicle cameras, and statements from multiple witnesses.
CFC Liu, 22, was a transport operator from the Singapore Armed Forces' Transport Hub West. On the day of the accident, he was assigned to drive an assessor from the Active Unit Training Centre - a regular captain - who was the Land Rover's vehicle commander.
The Bionix vehicle's crew of four, all full-time national servicemen, were from the 42nd Battalion Singapore Armoured Regiment.
On Nov 3 last year, the exercise had commenced at 7am at the Jalan Murai training area. Just before 10am, the Bionix crew spotted several vehicles involved in the exercise passing a junction ahead of it.
The armoured vehicle then stopped, as ordered by its vehicle commander. So did the Land Rover, which was following the Bionix to assess the crew's performance.
The trainer instructed CFC Liu to overtake the Bionix, but the latter heard shots fired as part of the exercise as he moved forward. He stopped the Land Rover at a maximum distance of 19.8m, based on the COI's calculations, from the Bionix. The safe distance stipulated is 30m, and it was the job of the Land Rover's vehicle commander to ensure this, the COI noted.
Four seconds after the Land Rover stopped, the Bionix crew reversed the vehicle to execute the extrication drill ordered by the Bionix commander, as a response to the gunshots. Almost immediately after the Bionix started reversing, the rear guide was seen gesturing at the Land Rover to move away. He was also seen pushing the microphone of his Combat Vehicle Crew (CVC) helmet closer to his mouth. He repeatedly issued stop commands, but the Bionix kept reversing.
A slight steer on the part of the vehicle operator brought the Land Rover into the path of the reversing Bionix. Both CFC Liu and the trainer had shouted and gestured with their hands for the Bionix to stop, and the trainer also tried to reach for the handset of the radio set to communicate with the Bionix crew.
But about eight seconds after it started reversing, the armoured vehicle hit the Land Rover and mounted the driver's side before stopping. CFC Liu was trapped, but the trainer managed to extricate himself. The exercise was immediately stopped. Dr Ng said: "The COI noted that the intercom system was working earlier in the exercise. They have asked for an independent technical assessment report on whether the intercom system was working properly all the time."
The intercom via the CVC helmet is the rear guide's only means of communications with other crew members in the Bionix, he said, adding that police probes are also focused on the communications between the Bionix crew, and whether this was affected by the equipment.
CFC Liu died from his injuries at about 10.35am. The cause of his death was traumatic asphyxia, said Dr Ng.
Dr Ng said that CFC Liu was a well-liked and respected soldier who served with pride.
"We mourn the loss of this precious son. And we hope that the measures we have put in place will prevent a similar incident from reoccurring," he said.
