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Six servicemen from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) who had been indicted in a military court for the 2018 death of full-time national serviceman (NSF) Dave Lee have been convicted, the Defense Ministry said yesterday.
The six servicemen, two regular and four ready-to-operate national servicemen (NSmen), who were charged in February and pleaded guilty, were fined between $ 1,800 and $ 4,500.
Three of them were also demoted from the rank of Third Sergeant (NS) out.
Corporal First Class (CFC) Dave Lee, who was 19 years old at the time and a guard with the Singapore 1st Guards Battalion, died on April 30, 2018, approximately two weeks after being admitted to the General Hospital of Changi from heat stroke.
The case had sparked a discussion about the safety of training and lapses at the SAF after Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen detailed preliminary findings in Parliament in August 2018 on the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The military court proceedings came after Captain Tan Baoshu, the supervising officer in the 8 km fast march after which the incident occurred, was discharged which does not amount to an acquittal in January this year, after to be diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.
He had sought trial after being charged in state court on October 31, 2018.
The Attorney General’s Office had determined that after the conclusion of the police investigations, there were sufficient grounds to prosecute Tan under criminal law, the Defense Ministry said.
Yesterday, Mindef said that 25-year-old First Sergeant Chia Zhi Xuan was convicted of one count of disobedience to general orders under Section 21 of the SAF Act and fined $ 2,500.
The regular military man was the directing officer of a training race held the day before CFC Lee’s fast march, and had made unauthorized deviations from the race lesson plan.
Another regular, 26-year-old Second Sergeant Koh Ren Zhong, who was the security officer for the fast march, was convicted of one count of negligent performance of a legal duty under Section 17 (2) of the SAF Act and fined with $ 1,800. He had originally faced one charge of committing a life-threatening negligent act under Section 41 (b) of the SAF Act.
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First Sergeant Chia Zhi Xuan, 25
• Convicted of one charge of disobedience of general orders under Section 21 of the SAF Act.
• $ 2,500 fine.
Second Sergeant Koh Ren Zhong, 26
• Convicted of one count of negligent compliance with a legal duty under Section 17 (2) of the SAF Act.
• $ 1,800 fine.
Corporal (NS) Chng Pheng Heng, 22 Corporal (NS) Jonas Ang Kai Jie, 24 Corporal (NS) Yep Ren Jie, 22
• Each convicted of one count of disobedience of general orders under Section 21 of the SAF Act and one count of abuse of authority under Section 29 of the Act.
• Each was fined $ 2,500 and demoted from 3rd Sergeant to Corporal.
Corporal (NS) Tan Jin Yang, 24 years old
• Convicted of two counts of negligent acts that endanger life under Section 41 (b) of the SAF Act.
• Fined a total of $ 4,500 for both charges.
Three NSmen section commanders who applied unauthorized punishments the day before the fast march were fined $ 2,500 and demoted from third sergeant to corporal. They are Corporal (NS) Chng Pheng Heng, 22; Corporal (NS) Jonas Ang Kai Jie, 24; and Corporal (NS) Yep Ren Jie, 22 years old.
Each of them was found guilty of one count of disobedience of general orders under Section 21 of the SAF Act and one count of abuse of authority under Section 29 of the Act.
Initially, each had faced three counts: two counts of disobedience of general orders and one count of abuse of authority.
Corporal (NS) Tan Jin Yang, 24, also a member of NS and a fast-walking physician, was convicted of two counts of negligent, life-threatening acts under Section 41 (b) of the SAF Law. He was fined a total of $ 4,500 for both charges.
The police had referred the six soldiers to Mindef to investigate possible infractions of military law. The military were charged in a military court after the SAF Special Investigation Branch concluded its investigations.
Tan Baoshu, 33, died on February 13 of this year after being diagnosed with cancer. He had been charged with causing the death of CFC Lee by taking a reckless act, which included failing to evacuate the victim in a timely manner, and charged with not allowing the treatment that CFC Lee needed.
Dr. Ng said in August 2018 that a preliminary assessment found that the likely reasons CFC Lee succumbed to heatstroke were improper management of victims at the scene and a delayed evacuation to the medical center.
The minister had also said that CFC Lee and his platoon mates were punished for about 30 minutes the night before the rapid march because two soldiers had used their mobile phones after the lights went out.
The punishment for the perceived lack of teamwork involved the entire platoon. The soldiers were forced to do physical exercises like leopard crawling, push-ups and sit-ups.
That same day, CFC Lee also did an interval training run at a faster pace than required, with a shorter rest time between laps.
This was a violation of training safety regulations.
Dr. Ng then said that the reason given for these deviations was that the commanders wanted to improve fitness and foster greater cohesion while keeping the platoon intact.
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