SINGAPORE: A Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) captain has been found guilty of a rash act linked to the death of a full-time national serviceman (NSF) who died after being pinned in a Land Rover by a Bionix vehicle three years ago.
Ong Lin Jie, 30, was convicted on Monday (Nov 22) of one charge of doing a rash act not amounting to culpable homicide by failing to keep a safe distance of 30m between the two vehicles.
Ong, a regular officer and platoon trainer with the Armour Unit Training Regiment, was taking part in a three-day training exercise near Sungei Gedong Camp in November 2018 with the victim, 22-year-old Liu Kai.
Ong ordered the victim, who was posthumously promoted to Corporal First Class (CFC), to overtake the Bionix Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) without first establishing communications with the Bionix and when it was unsafe to do so.
As a result, the Bionix - an armoured tracked vehicle armed with either a cannon or an automatic grenade launcher and heavy machine gun - reversed into the Land Rover, mounting the driver's side and pinning CFC Liu in his seat.
The prosecution had argued that Ong had rashly ordered CFC Liu to overtake the Bionix, "despite having every reason to believe that it was dangerous to do so in the circumstances".
"His rash act placed the Land Rover in an unsafe proximity to BX13, which was the substantial cause of the collision, and ultimately, Liu Kai's death," they said.
Ong, who has been suspended, will return to court for mitigation and sentencing in December.
For a rash act not amounting to culpable homicide, he can be jailed for up to five years, fined, or both.
Others have been hauled to court over the incident, with three men fined in December 2019 for breaching the Official Secrets Act over leaked photos of the accident.
Continue reading...
Ong Lin Jie, 30, was convicted on Monday (Nov 22) of one charge of doing a rash act not amounting to culpable homicide by failing to keep a safe distance of 30m between the two vehicles.
Ong, a regular officer and platoon trainer with the Armour Unit Training Regiment, was taking part in a three-day training exercise near Sungei Gedong Camp in November 2018 with the victim, 22-year-old Liu Kai.
Ong ordered the victim, who was posthumously promoted to Corporal First Class (CFC), to overtake the Bionix Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) without first establishing communications with the Bionix and when it was unsafe to do so.
As a result, the Bionix - an armoured tracked vehicle armed with either a cannon or an automatic grenade launcher and heavy machine gun - reversed into the Land Rover, mounting the driver's side and pinning CFC Liu in his seat.
The prosecution had argued that Ong had rashly ordered CFC Liu to overtake the Bionix, "despite having every reason to believe that it was dangerous to do so in the circumstances".
"His rash act placed the Land Rover in an unsafe proximity to BX13, which was the substantial cause of the collision, and ultimately, Liu Kai's death," they said.
Ong, who has been suspended, will return to court for mitigation and sentencing in December.
For a rash act not amounting to culpable homicide, he can be jailed for up to five years, fined, or both.
Others have been hauled to court over the incident, with three men fined in December 2019 for breaching the Official Secrets Act over leaked photos of the accident.
Continue reading...