SAF commanders summoned to be told on the importance of looking after their men
SINGAPORE: Some 400 commanders of the Singapore Armed Forces were summoned by the Defence Minister to hear a serious message from him on Thursday morning.
And that message was - every one of them is responsible for looking after his men and are personally responsible for them.
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Rear Admiral Teo Chee Hean revealed this to Parliament during a debate on the recent deaths of three SAF servicemen.
"This morning I summoned all the unit commanders and senior commanders in the SAF from all the three services together with the service chiefs, more than 400 of them to impress upon them the seriousness of the incident and to reinforce the importance of looking after their men.
"This morning I told them that this incident is a stain on the reputation of the SAF and they have to erase that stain by their actions. Every instructor, section leader, unit commander, senior commander is responsible for looking after his men and they are personally responsible for this," said Admiral Teo.
Earlier in his ministerial statement, he said investigations revealed that Second Sergeant Hu Enhuai had his head submerged underwater four times during the combat survival training which led to his death from asphyxia and near drowning. This is not allowed under the training.
The incident, he added, was a stain on the SAF and it should never have happened.
This is so, especially when the course that Sergeant Hu had attended was the 80th in its series with some 6,000 trainees having completed it.
And there had been no previous similar cases but Mindef was investigating to see if the practice may have started before.
After the incident, MINDEF had suspended five instructors who conducted the training, four others have also been relieved of their duties while the Chief Commando Officer Colonel Noel Cheah has been removed and replaced with Colonel Yeo Eidik.
"I have posted in a new chief commando officer to draw a line under this incident and for the commandos to rebuild themselves. What has happened to Second Sergeant Hu on the Combat Survival training course should never have happened. I will get to the bottom of how such an unauthorised training practice could have crept into the School of Commando Training," Admiral Teo said.
MPs, many of whom have had instances of NSmen complaining to them of ill treatment, had many questions and suggestions for the Minister.
MP for Jurong GRC, Halimah Yaacob, asked for assurance to parents that there will not be any future lapses while opposition MP for Hougang, Low Thia Khiang suggested that traineee be informed of their right.
Said Mr Low: "Many of the people who have gone through National Service, we all know we all 'kena tekan' (were ill treated). Even if you are being ill treated, you may not know you are being ill treated because you don't know what is your right. What instructor or officer can do to you or not do to you. It will be useful if the recuits or trainees are made known to them what is their right or what the instructor should or should not do to them"
Admiral Teo said he has received such feedback before and the SAF has produced a recruit's handbook detailing much information the recruit needs to know.
On the deaths of the two other servicemen, Admiral Teo said preliminary investigations showed there were no lapses contributing to their deaths. - CNA
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