SINGAPORE - The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) has filed a police report against five of its full-time national servicemen (NSFs) for taking and circulating photos of the scene of an accident involving a Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF) Bionix armoured vehicle last Saturday (Nov 3).
One photo that ended up in social media shows a Bionix vehicle on top of a Land Rover that was crushed. An ambulance and SCDF personnel are seen in the background.
The Bionix vehicle had reversed into the Land Rover during an SAF field training exercise in the Jalan Murai training area, killing the driver, Corporal First Class Liu Kai, 22.
An SCDF spokesman said on Friday (Nov 9) that preliminary investigations showed two NSFs who responded to the accident had taken unauthorised photos of the scene and sent them to some other NSFs via a WhatsApp chat group.
"Three of the NSFs who received these photos subsequently forwarded them to their friends. One of these photos has appeared on social media," said the spokesman.
"SCDF takes a serious view of the matter and has filed a police report against the five NSFs for their unauthorised actions," added the spokesman.
The police confirmed that a report has been lodged and investigations are ongoing.
Another photo that has been circulating on social media shows the Bionix on top of the Land Rover and soldiers standing around, without any emergency services on the scene. It is not clear who took the photo.
The Ministry of Defence (Mindef) is looking into all the photos that have been leaked out.
A Mindef spokesman said: "All personnel provided access to SAF training grounds are subject to the restrictions placed on unauthorised photography or videography.
"Offenders will be prosecuted to ensure that these strict rules to guard our security are not compromised."
In September this year, ex-ambulance driver Shaik Haziq Fahmi Shaik Nasair Johar, 29, was fined $1,500 under the Official Secrets Act for taking a photo of a dead body while on duty.
He had been working for ambulance operator Unistrong Technology, which has a contract with the Government for its services.
His former colleague, paramedic Nurizzah Afiqah Hussain, 27, was also fined $3,000 in August for sending the photo to her then boyfriend.
