Singapore — A national serviceman was found dead on Monday (Aug 30) at Special Operations Command (SOC) less than an hour after he had reported for duty.

The full-time police NSF was 21 years old and had been discovered with a gunshot wound to his head.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) announced the serviceman’s death in a media release on Tuesday (Aug 31). 

It said that he had reported for duty at around 10.30 am on Monday, and had taken his service revolver from the armoury.

Half an hour later he was discovered with a gunshot wound to his head in a toilet at the SOC, with his service revolver next to him.

At 11.20 am, the serviceman was pronounced dead on the scene by paramedics.

“The Police have classified the case as unnatural death. The Criminal Investigation Department is investigating the case. Based on preliminary investigations, the Police do not suspect foul play.

The Police extend our deepest condolences to the family of the late serviceman and are assisting the family in their time of grief,” the SPF added.

This is the second time in a span of seven days that a serviceman was found dead in this manner.

On Monday last week (Aug 23) the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) announced the death of a 47-year-old serviceman in a news release.

According to the ministry, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) regular had been found hanging from a rope at the rooftop of Gombak multi-storey car park on that same day.

“The Singapore Police Force and the Singapore Civil Defence Force were activated by the unit,” MINDEF added.

He was pronounced dead on-site at around 1:40 pm by a medical officer from SAF.

In his case, the police also classified the demise of the serviceman as unnatural death and based on their preliminary investigations, they are not suspicious of any foul play. 

The ministry also indicated that the serviceman’s death had not been related to his training.

“The Ministry of Defence and the SAF extend our deepest condolences to the family of the late serviceman, and are assisting the family in their time of grief,” MINDEF added.

In response to the announcement of the SAF regular’s death, many netizens are calling for attention to be paid to mental health issues, given the stresses of this time. /TISG

Read also: After SAF regular serviceman found dead at Gombak Base carpark, netizens call for attention to mental health issues

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