By Jermyn Chow, The Straits Times, 15 May 2012
DEFENCE Minister Ng Eng Hen yesterday assured the House that every training-related death causes the military's top brass to re-examine the safety system in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).
'Every incident resulting in injury or death is painful to us and gets top management priority, to make it right,' he said.
'Every incident resulting in injury or death is painful to us and gets top management priority, to make it right,' he said.
'We will spare no effort to investigate every incident thoroughly.'
His assurance follows calls by MPs Irene Ng (Tampines GRC) and Lim Wee Kiak (Nee Soon GRC) for the SAF to beef up its safety management after recent deaths.
Dr Ng said that when a national serviceman dies, an independent committee of inquiry will be convened.
Led by a senior civil servant outside the Defence Ministry, the four-member panel will also include a senior doctor from the public sector.
It will:
It will:
- ascertain the facts and determine what might have led to the death;
- decide if there were any safety lapses and whether directives and command structures were adhered to;
- determine whether the incident could have been avoided and recommend preventive measures.
The police will submit an independent report to the State Coroner, who will ascertain the cause of death and the circumstances surrounding it.
The coroner's inquiry, held in open court, is based on post-mortem examinations and laboratory tests, which can take up to three months to complete.
Last Friday, the SAF suspended field training in all its army units and training schools for five days, following the death of Third Sergeant Tan Mou Sheng, 20, who died after a jeep he was in overturned when the driver lost control.
A five-day safety time-out, which is the longest in 15 years, ends today.
Dr Ng said suspending field training allowed the SAF's safety inspectorate to 'review our standard operating procedures, our processes to make sure that safety guidelines were adhered to'.
The recommendations from the two inquiries will then be used to beef up the safety system, he added.
'Where there are mistakes, we will own up to them, learn, rectify and continuously improve. That way, we can put in place a robust safety system that will prevent all avoidable injuries and deaths.'
'1 in 5 has asthma, but it's mild'
By Jermyn Chow, The Straits Times, 15 May 2012
By Jermyn Chow, The Straits Times, 15 May 2012
ONE in five servicemen in the Singapore Armed Forces has asthma, but his condition is usually mild - mild enough for most of those with the disease to be considered combat-fit.
Over the past 20 years, many with asthma have been put through military training 'without adverse effects', Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said in Parliament yesterday, as he explained the medical screening procedures that men undergo before enlisting for national service.
But he also gave the assurance SAF's paramedics are trained and equipped to handle any asthma attacks, such as using inhalers or providing supplemental oxygen. 'Around 20 per cent of our servicemen are found to have some form of asthma, of which (the) majority are mild. Many of them have been put through training without adverse effects.'
Dr Ng made these comments after Ms Irene Ng (Tampines GRC) asked whether the SAF should relook its screening for pre-enlistees. The question came in the wake of a spate of deaths of SAF servicemen: This year, five men have died while in camp or in a training area. One of them was full-time national serviceman Dominique Sarron Lee, who collapsed on April 17 after suffering what is believed to have been an asthma attack. He was taking part in a training exercise that involved the use of smoke grenades.
His death put the spotlight on pre-enlistment medical screening yesterday. Every year, more than 20,000 teenagers who are enlisted have to undergo X-ray tests, eyesight checks and resting electrocardiogram tests, among other things.
His death put the spotlight on pre-enlistment medical screening yesterday. Every year, more than 20,000 teenagers who are enlisted have to undergo X-ray tests, eyesight checks and resting electrocardiogram tests, among other things.
In his reply, Dr Ng gave updates on investigations into the deaths while assuring MPs that the SAF gave safety the highest priority.
He noted that smoke grenades have been used for many years, and Private Lee's death was the first such incident. Investigations have also yet to determine whether asthma or the smoke grenades contributed to his death, he stressed.
Dr Ng explained that servicemen with mild and well-controlled asthma are given, in military parlance, a Physical Employment Status of A or B during their pre-enlistment screening. This means they will typically serve at least nine weeks of Basic Military Training and undergo combat training. The other grades - C, D, E - are for non-combat roles.
Dr Ng said the classification system, which has been used since 1971, is formulated by leading medical specialists from the public and private sectors.
Ground commanders are also made responsible for their men's safety. 'They have the prerogative to stop training for any serviceman at anytime if they sense something is amiss.'
He also assured MPs that the SAF regularly reviewed its medical screening procedures, to ensure they keep up with international and national clinical practices.
Dr Lim Wee Kiak (Nee Soon GRC) asked if servicemen undergo compulsory allergy tests.
Replying, Minister of State for Defence and Education Lawrence Wong said the current medical guidelines do not stipulate such tests for those who do not show any symptoms of allergy. Instead, pre-enlistees are asked whether they have had any previously known or suspected allergies and if so, they will be tested.
Facts of NSF deaths
ALTHOUGH investigations into the death of full-time national servicemen (NSFs) Amirul Syahmi Kamal and Dominique Sarron Lee are still ongoing, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen revealed to the House some facts of their deaths.
ALTHOUGH investigations into the death of full-time national servicemen (NSFs) Amirul Syahmi Kamal and Dominique Sarron Lee are still ongoing, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen revealed to the House some facts of their deaths.
Private Dominique Sarron Lee, 21
3rd Battalion Singapore Infantry Regiment; died on April 17
Pte Lee had breathing difficulties during a platoon exercise that had used smoke grenades.
3rd Battalion Singapore Infantry Regiment; died on April 17
Pte Lee had breathing difficulties during a platoon exercise that had used smoke grenades.
The battalion's chief safety officer accompanied him out of the building in a training area in Lim Chu Kang. When outside, he lost consciousness and received cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the spot. He was given supplemental oxygen and taken in a safety vehicle to a SAF medical centre. Efforts to revive him where he collapsed, at the medical centre and on the way to the National University Hospital all failed. He was pronounced dead at 2.05pm.
Pte Lee had declared during his pre-enlistment screening on Jan 4, 2011 that he had a history of asthma. He was considered fit for military training, as his last reported asthma attack was more than three years before his enlistment in October 2011.
From then until his collapse on April 17, Pte Lee never called in sick for any asthma attacks.
Private Amiral Syahmi Kamal, 20
3rd Battalion Singapore Guards; died on March 15
Pte Amirul did not turn up for a routine roll-call in Bedok Camp. A search was conducted and he was found unconscious, at 5.30pm, in a locked toilet cubicle, with a rope tied around his neck and hanging from the shower beam.
3rd Battalion Singapore Guards; died on March 15
Pte Amirul did not turn up for a routine roll-call in Bedok Camp. A search was conducted and he was found unconscious, at 5.30pm, in a locked toilet cubicle, with a rope tied around his neck and hanging from the shower beam.
Efforts to revive him where he was found and as he was being taken to Changi General Hospital failed. He was pronounced dead at 6.09pm.
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