SCDF officer charged over firefighter’s death in Henderson Rd blaze to plead guilty
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Muhammad Kamil Mohamed Yasin seen at the State Courts on Oct 16, 2023.
PHOTO: ST FILE
SINGAPORE – A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officer intends to plead guilty to leaving a full-time national serviceman (NSF) to fight a Housing Board flat fire alone.
The latter suffocated and died.
Warrant Officer 2 Muhammad Kamil Mohamed Yasin, 39, faces one charge of causing grievous hurt by a rash act which endangers life or the personal safety of others.
The NSF, Sergeant 1 Edward H. Go, 19, died while fighting the blaze at Block 91 Henderson Road on Dec 8, 2022.
Kamil was removed from front-line duties from Aug 23, 2023. He was charged on Oct 16 that year and interdicted on half-pay the same week. According to court records, he is set to plead guilty on Jan 15, 2025.
Kamil is accused of exiting the fourth-floor unit during the fire, leaving SGT(1) Go alone in the burning unit, and failing to inform anyone about it. SGT(1) Go was the first firefighter to die during an SCDF firefighting operation.
Kamil is represented by veteran criminal lawyer Ramesh Tiwary. The case will be heard by District Judge Shawn Ho.
The police said in October 2023 that Kamil went against standard procedures by allegedly leaving SGT(1) Go alone in the unit to fight the blaze without informing anyone.
The autopsy certified that SGT(1) Go died of suffocation due to a depleted air cylinder. The police said investigations did not find any evidence to suggest his death was due to equipment failure.
The SCDF said SGT(1) Go’s crew immediately took him out of the burning flat and administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him. Paramedics used an automated external defibrillator on him and took him to Singapore General Hospital. He was pronounced dead there.
The SCDF officer had allegedly left Sergeant 1 Edward H. Go (left) alone in a flat in Block 91 Henderson Road to fight the fire, without informing anyone.
The SCDF had said then that SGT(1) Go was certified medically fit before his enlistment and categorised under the physical employment standard as PES A. Servicemen in this category are considered suitable for front-line operational vocations such as firefighting.
In Parliament in January 2023, Minister of State for Home Affairs Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim said SGT(1) Go attained a gold standard in his individual physical proficiency test and an A grade in his breathing apparatus proficiency test.
He had also fared well in other mandatory course requirements and attended to nearly 60 fire and rescue calls after he was posted to Central Fire Station in May 2022.
If convicted, Kamil can be jailed for up to four years, fined up to $10,000, or both.
The SCDF had earlier said a second officer had been referred by the police for investigations related to the fire. This officer allegedly failed to adequately ensure the overall safety of the firefighting operation when he arrived and took over command and control.
The SCDF told The Straits Times on Nov 18 that it is awaiting the outcome of Kamil’s court case before proceeding with internal action against the second officer.
On May 16, 2024, Captain Kenneth Tay Xue Qin, 30, died while fighting a fire on board a ship. He was the second firefighter to die in the line of duty here.
A marine rota commander at the SCDF West Coast Marine Fire Station, he had lost consciousness while fighting a blaze on board China-flagged tanker Sheng Hang Hua 6. He was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
