RECENT DEATHS OF NSMEN

RECENT DEATHS OF NSMEN: 1.

Assoc. Prof. Paulin Tay Straughan asked the Deputy Prime Minister and

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Minister for Defence in light of the tragic deaths of two full-time National Servicemen involving reversing army vehicles, what additional measures have been put in place to prevent such accidents from happening again.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence (Mr Teo Chee Hean): Mr Speaker, Sir, I am saddened by the loss of Lance Corporal (LCP) Eugin Wee Yong Choon on 28th January 2011. I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family.

Assoc. Prof. Straughan referred to two incidents. The first incident occurred on 3rd July 2009 at Seletar Camp. A Motor Transport Officer was pinned under a landrover and succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. A Committee of Inquiry convened to investigate the incident found that the driver of the vehicle had been negligent in his duties as a driver, and had failed to follow the correct vehicle mounting and starting procedures. The Police also conducted a separate and independent investigation. The driver of the vehicle was subsequently charged in Court for causing death by doing a negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide. He pleaded guilty and was fined $5,000 and disqualified from driving all vehicles for four years.

Following this incident one and a half years ago in 2009, MINDEF and the SAF conducted a review on the procedures for vehicle mounting and starting and concluded that they were fundamentally sound, and the incident could have been prevented if the driver had followed them. The SAF has continued to reinforce these procedures and remind its vehicle commanders and drivers to adhere strictly to them before mounting and starting any vehicle.

The most recent incident involving LCP Eugin Wee occurred on 28th January 2011. The SAF immediately ordered a

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safety time-out that same day, for unit commanders to go through with all vehicle commanders and drivers vehicular safety drills and procedures. The SAF does this when there is an incident of note because these are teachable moments when safety procedures are reinforced and lessons learnt are shared, so that every person is aware of the relevance of procedures and safety consciousness. And each person knows that safety is in his hands and that what he does or does not do can have serious consequences on his buddies or himself.

Mr Speaker, MINDEF takes the safety and well-being of our servicemen very seriously. The Army safety system is not simply one which is drawn up on its own but it is also certified in accordance with the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS). Adherence to OHSAS provides a comprehensive system of safety management based on a set of standard procedures designed to systematically and methodically manage risks in our work processes. For those who are not familiar with it, OHSAS is an internationally recognised system created by a group of world-leading bodies and consultancies who are the authorities of standards. These include countries like Ireland, Australia, South Africa and Britain.

The Army constantly upkeeps our OHSAS standards and undergoes annual inspection and audit by an independent external agency. In addition, the Army also conducts internal safety management system audits on core Army units. The prescribed safety procedures are hence fundamentally sound but we have to continue to do better to make sure that they are followed. This includes regular reminders to those responsible for operating vehicles and special reminders during such teachable moments. However, safety procedures cannot cover every specific condition that may arise. Hence, it is also important that every

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Serviceman has safety consciousness, looks out for the safety of his men, his buddies and himself.

MINDEF is conducting a Commission of Inquiry and the Police is independently conducting its investigations into the death of LCP Wee. As these inquiries are in progress, it would not be appropriate for me to comment further on this specific case incident at this point in time.

Assoc. Prof. Paulin Tay Straughan (Nominated Member): I would like to thank the Minister for assuring all parents and NSmen that their safety is of primary concern. As my son is a proud member of the SAF now, I am deeply appreciative of the Minister's detailed assurance. I have just one supplementary question. The difficulty for us in all organisations is to guard against human error more than anything else. I would like to ask the Minister if the SAF would consider having a third person involved whenever vehicles are moving forward or backward, to be that extra pair of eyes to check and to ensure that the driver is aware there is a person or persons behind the truck, rather than to just have the driver and whoever is in-charge of off-loading or taking care of those behind-the-vehicle kind of operations.

Mr Teo Chee Hean: Mr Speaker, Sir, I am not sure whether Assoc. Prof. Straughan is referring to a second person or a third person because we already have a second person.

Assoc. Prof. Paulin Tay Straughan: The driver who is managing the vehicle, the officer or the man who is behind the vehicle and taking care of his responsibilities back there, and the third person who stands there and says, "Watch out, watch out."

Mr Teo Chee Hean: Indeed, Sir, for the operation of SAF vehicles, we do have a

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person called the vehicle commander and he is, in fact, responsible. He is the most senior person sitting in the vehicle. He sits next to the vehicle operator, or the driver. It is his responsibility to guide the vehicle operator and to correct him if he sees any situation which requires correction. The vehicle commander may not know the operation of the vehicle itself but he is able to assess the surrounding situation, particularly for safety. In the case where vehicles are manoeuvring in tight or confined spaces, the vehicle commander actually does dismount and guide the driver with hand signals and other signals, and helps to ensure that the area around the vehicle is cleared. As I have said, every person who is operating vehicles, the vehicle commander and others who are around vehicles have to look after themselves. We cannot cover every specific situation which may arise when operating a vehicle.

The procedures are also very, very detailed. If I may read the procedures for mounting a vehicle, or the drill which a person is supposed to go through: "open the door wide enough to get in; mount the vehicle with mounting handle; check safety; close the door firmly; check that the master switch, gear and hand brake are in the safe position; locate the main control and devices; adjust seat to correct driving posture; adjust mirrors; put on safety belt." So, there is a whole sequence of things that a person needs to do. And also before mounting the vehicle: "approach the vehicle from the front; check traffic; move around the vehicle for safety check; remove wheel chocks, obstacles", and so on. There are very detailed procedures. We need to emphasise to our vehicle operators and vehicle commanders that they do have a responsibility to themselves and to their buddies to follow the procedures.