Five Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) regular personnel were charged yesterday in relation to the death of full-time national serviceman (NSF) Kok Yuen Chin in May.
Another eight officers present during the alleged ragging incident at Tuas View Fire Station on May 13 are being investigated by the SCDF.
The five men charged were Mohammad Nur Fatwa Mahmood, 33; Mohamed Farid Mohamed Saleh, 34; Kenneth Chong Chee Boon, 37; Nazhan Mohamed Nazi, 40; and Adighazali Suhaimi, 32.
Court documents shed some light on what happened the night Corporal Kok was found unconscious at the bottom of a fire station pump well.
Nur Fatwa, a staff sergeant, had allegedly pushed Cpl Kok, 22, into the 12m-deep pump well at 9.07pm, causing him to drown.
Later that night at 11.23pm, he allegedly told Adighazali, also a staff sergeant, to delete a video of the incident. Nur Fatwa had allegedly acted on the instigation of Farid, a first warrant officer, to push Cpl Kok into the pump well.
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•Mohammad Nur Fatwa Mahmood, 33, a staff sergeant.
•Charged with committing a rash act causing death and abetting the obstruction of the course of justice by instigation.
•Faces up to five years' jail and a fine on first charge; and up to seven years' jail and a fine on latter.
•Mohamed Farid Mohamed Saleh, 34, a first warrant officer.
•Charged with abetting a rash act causing death.
•Faces up to five years in jail and a fine.
•Kenneth Chong Chee Boon, 37, a lieutenant and rota commander.
•Charged with abetting a rash act causing grievous hurt by illegal omission.
•Faces up to four years in jail and a $10,000 fine.
•Nazhan Mohamed Nazi, 40, a first senior warrant officer and deputy rota commander.
•Charged with abetting a rash act causing grievous hurt by illegal omission.
•Faces up to four years in jail and a $10,000 fine.
•Adighazali Suhaimi, 32, a staff sergeant.
•Charged with intentionally obstructing the course of justice.
•Faces up to seven years in jail and a fine.
Chong, a lieutenant, and Nazhan, a first senior warrant officer, were respectively the rota commander and deputy rota commander on duty on the night of the incident.
They had allegedly failed to prevent the group from pressuring Cpl Kok to enter the pump well, thereby endangering his life.
Adighazali had also allegedly deleted a video on his mobile phone of Cpl Kok being pushed into the pump well that was relevant to criminal investigations.
All the officers, except for Nur Fatwa, are due to appear in court again on Sept 3. Nur Fatwa's lawyer said that her client intends to plead guilty. His case will be heard on Sept 25.
In a statement yesterday, police said they have referred eight other officers who were present during the incident to the SCDF for departmental investigations.
SCDF confirmed this, adding that six of them are regular officers, and two are NSFs.
If they are found to have contravened SCDF rules and regulations, the regular officers will face public service disciplinary action, which may include dismissal from service or demotion in rank.
The NSFs will be liable for detentions or demotions in rank , or both, said the SCDF.
During the May 13 incident, Cpl Kok, a Singapore permanent resident from Malaysia, had been celebrating his impending operationally ready date with his squad mates, which involved him getting into the pump well as part of ragging activities.
He would have completed his service in two days.
A day after Cpl Kok's death, Nur Fatwa and Farid were arrested and suspended from service on half-pay pending investigations, The Straits Times understands.
A Board of Inquiry was convened to look into Cpl Kok's death and to make recommendations to prevent similar incidents.
Following the death, the SCDF beefed up its anti-ragging measures, including installing a metal grating across the openings of fire station pump wells to prevent unauthorised access.
