Hundreds of Singaporeans have excoriated the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) after it filed a police report against five of its full-time national servicemen (NSFs) for leaking pictures of the fatal Bionix accident that claimed the life of a young NS man.
Corporal First Class (CFC) Liu Kai died on Saturday at a Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Jalan Murai training ground after a Bionix vehicle reversed into and crushed the Land Rover he was in. CFC, who passed away on his sister’s birthday, was given a military send-off earlier this week.
One of the two leaked photos shows the Bionix on top of the crushed Land Rover as SCDF personnel and an ambulance populate the background. The second photo shows the vehicles and SAF officers at the scene.
The SCDF has since revealed that two of its NSFs who responded to the accident captured unauthorised photos at the scene and sent the pictures to a chat group with their fellow NSFs. Another three SCDF NSFs forwarded the pictures to other friends, before the photos landed on social media.
An SCDF spokesman said in a statement: “SCDF takes a serious view of the matter and has filed a police report against the five NSFs for their unauthorised actions.”
As the police confirmed that a complaint has been lodged and that their investigations are ongoing, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) told the press that it, too, has commenced its own investigations into the leaked photos:
“All personnel provided access to SAF training grounds are subject to the restrictions placed on unauthorised photography or videography. Offenders will be prosecuted to ensure that these strict rules to guard our security are not compromised.”
Singaporeans, however, do not seem to be happy.
Hundreds of Singaporeans are up in arms over the authorities’ decision to take action against the 5 NSFs and have saluted the young man, asking why the authorities are trying to “cover” this issue up:
