Coroner shocked by solder's death: How could it have happened?
SOLDIER Ong Jia hui drowned while training off Changi Naval Base - before the very eyes of his four instructors standing less than 10m away.
None of them saw him slip under the surface of the sea on June 15.
At Second Sergeant Ong's inquest yesterday, the State Coroner blasted the four instructors' lack of vigilance and found them responsible for his death through their negligence.
The Ministry of Defence had earlier said no safety regulations had been breached in the 24-year-old solder's death.
Second Sgt Ong, who had been training with four other Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) regulars, was found lying on the seabed moments after the instructors did a headcount and discovered they were one man short.
His life jacket, which was found to be defective, was never inflated. The coroner's report stated that as the leaking life vest was not activated, it "did not contribute" to 2nd Sgt Ong's drowning.
The SAF regular could not be revived and died in Changi General Hospital.
His SAF instructors – Master Sergeants Julian Tan, 32, and Tan Kang Choon, 33, First Warrant Officer Ho Yin Choy, 43, and Staff Sergeant Alex Chan, 28, - now face the possibility of criminal charges.
Yesterday, State Coroner Tan Boon Heng strongly criticized the instructors when he delivered his verdict.
"It is with a heavy heart that I must place on record that 2nd Sgt Ong's death happened under no less than watchful eyes of his trainers tasked to ensure the safety of the trainees," he said.
The judge was incredulous that all four men failed to notice the drowning trainee even though they were barely 10m away.
"I am more so alarmed since there was not just one pair of watchful eyes, but four pairs," he said. "I still cannot comprehend how all four could have missed Jia Hui sinking to death within a 10m radius."
The inquest earlier head that 2nd Sgt Ong and four others were on a Maritime Counter-Terrorism course that afternoon.
Their training required them to swim from a wharf to a ship 32 away and board it using a pole and a ladder.
Their supervising officer, Major Richard Koh, was showing the trainees how to board the ship using the pole. When he was done, he turned around, realised they were one trainee short and raised the alarm.
Second Sgt Ong was found nine metres underwater. He was motionless and was not entangled with seaweed or nets.
He was taken to the medical centre at Changi Naval Base where another shock was in wait. There was no medical officer present because Master Sgt Julian Tan did not inform the medical centre that they were undertaking a training exercise.
When asked about the coroner's findings, a Defence Ministry spokesman said: "The matter has been referred to the Attorney-General's Chambers. It would not be appropriate to comment"
Source: THE STRAITS TIMES FRIDAY DECEMBER 30, 2005
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