SAF Captain Found Guilty of Causing NSF’s Death in Bionix Accident

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has been putting into place safety policies to try and limit injuries and deaths since time immemorial.

Ask your father or uncles and they’ll probably tell you that things are so much better today.

However, having safety policies is one thing, but having people follow them? It’s a whole other story.

For those who’ve served in the SAF, you’ll probably know what I’m talking about.

If you’re lucky, you don’t get caught and go on your merry way; but if you’re unlucky? It could result in the loss of lives.

SAF Captain Found Guilty of Causing NSF’s Death in Bionix Accident

Ong Lin Jie was a platoon trainer with the Armour Unit Training Centre at the Armour Training Institute at that time.

When the tragic incident happened on 3 Nov 2018, Ong was in the same landrover (for the uninitiated, think of this as a “car”) as Corporal First Class (CFC) Liu Kai.

He was found guilty of causing death by a rash act in court today (22 Nov 2021) and will be sentenced on 20 Dec 2021.

For causing death by rash act, he can be jailed up to five years and fined.

What Happened

During the exercise, the Bionix with the callsign BX13 had reportedly stopped in front of a T-junction.

The landrover in which Ong and CFC Liu were in came to a stop 30 metres behind the vehicle.

Unaware of what caused the halt, Ong made a call for CFC Liu to overtake the Bionix on the left, to which he complied.

As the vehicle passed the 30-metre safety distance, the Bionix fired three shots and CFC Liu immediately stopped the vehicle.

At this moment, the landrover was “16 to 18 metres” behind the Bionix.

As part of the combat drill, the Bionix started reversing and, unfortunately, climbed onto the driver’s side of the vehicle, pinning CFC Liu to his seat.

It was added that Ong had not established communications with the vehicle in front before doing so.

A Key Tenet To SAF Armour Safety Protocol

Prosecutors in the case argued that Ong’s actions have led to the death of CFC Liu.

The 30-metre safety distance was a “key tenet” taught to all armour commanders, and this includes Ong, they emphasised.

The safety distance allows all parties to respond adequately to collision, it was added.

By circumventing the safety protocol, Ong had placed CFC Liu in the line of the collision, which resulted in his unfortunate death.

“By ordering Liu Kai to overtake BX13… (Ong) had placed the Land Rover in the path of the BX13’s reverse manoeuvre, resulting in the collision that led to Liu Kai’s untimely death.”

Meanwhile, Ong said that he was unaware of the reason behind the Bionix’s halt and wanted to bring the vehicle to a place where it can observe the firefight without disruption.

When the armoured vehicle started reversing, he had shouted for it to stop and saw the rear guide shouting as well.

Unfortunately, the Bionix didn’t stop and the accident happened.

Read Also:

• More Safety Lapses Reported in SAF But It Could’ve Been Due to More People Reporting
• SAF Captain Charged Over NSF’s Death; 5 Others Face Charges For Leaking Photos Under Official Secrets Act
• SAF Servicemen Can Now Take Photos in Camp to Report Safety Hazards

Feature Image: Cyber Pioneer