SAF Captain Charged Over NSF’s Death; 5 Others Face Charges For Leaking Photos Under Official Secrets Act

In an unfortunate incident that happened last year, Corporal First Class Liu Kai died after an accident at Jalan Murai training area.

This happened on 3 November 2018.

An officer from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Captain Ong Lin Jie, 28 will be charged in court today (25 October) over the death of full-time national serviceman (NSF) Liu Kai.

The police have said in a news release that Captain Ong Lin Jie, 28 will be charged with a rash act causing death.

The Accident

22-year-old CFC Liu Kai was operating a Land Rover during a field training exercise when a Bionix vehicle reversed into his vehicle. The Bionix vehicle partially mounted the vehicle CFC Liu Kai was in.

The incident occurred at around 10.10am.

Pte Liu lost conscious immediately and was attended by a medic. The SCDF arrived at 10:30 am, but Pte Liu succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead by medical officers at 10:35 am.

As a result, an army-wide safety timeout was implemented, which included overseas training exercises.

Five People Accused Of Leaking Photos

According to CNA, five people are also accused of leaking photos and will be charged with wrongful communication of official information under the Official Secrets Act.

Two of the five, Muhammad Arif Azman and Mohamad Haikal Mohamad Zainal Abiddin, were serving their National Service with the Singapore Civil Defence Force when the incident happened.

The police said, “(They) were at the scene where they took photographs of the incident and disseminated them via WhatsApp.”

Three others, Brandon Tan Jien Jet, Thng Yu Xuan and Muhammad Zaki Haji Mokhtar received the photos and shared them although they were aware that it was “sensitive official information.”

If convicted of a rash act causing death, CPT Ong faces up to five years’ jail, a fine, or both.

If convicted of wrongful communication of official information, the five charged can be fined up to $2,000 and jailed for up to two years.

For 10 facts with regards to the passing of NSF Liu, tap here.

If anyone’s wondering about the vehicles involved in the accident, here’s a short and concise gist of what a land rover and Bionix is, as told by my well-informed (i.e. NSman) fellow writer:

What’s a Land Rover and What’s a Bionix?

A Land Rover is a rather old vehicle that’s progressively being phased out, though it’s not certain whether they would be entirely phased out or not. It’s now quite rare to see them in outfield exercises.

A Bionix is an armoured vehicle that most civilians might not have come across, as it’s meant to be operated in the field.

Wikipedia states that it can go up to 70 km/h.

We sincerely hope that the family will find peace.