ENLISTMENT (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read. 4.27 pm

The Minister of State for Defence (Mr Cedric Foo Chee Keng): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

The Bill before this House seeks to amend the Enlistment Act as follows:

(a) to provide that a regular serviceman who has been sentenced by a subordinate military court to be discharged with ignominy or dismissed shall be deemed to be discharged from regular service from the date of the sentence or any date as specified by the subordinate military court; and

(b) to provide that in computing the period of service of a serviceman, no account shall be taken of any period during which he is under close arrest on a charge for which he is subsequently convicted.

Sir, these amendments are to improve the administration of the SAF disciplinary system. Let me now highlight the major aspects of the Bill. Discharge of regular servicemen who have been sentenced by a military court to be "discharged with ignominy" or "dismissed"

Clause 3 of the Bill seeks to amend section 20 of the Enlistment Act by inserting, immediately after subsection (3), new subsections (4), (5) and (6), to provide that a regular serviceman who is sentenced by a subordinate military court to be "discharged with ignominy" or "dismissed", shall be deemed to be discharged from regular service from the date of the sentence or any date as may be specified by the subordinate military court.

Presently, the Enlistment Regulations require that the serviceman be further administratively discharged by the Proper Authority. The Director of Manpower is the designated Proper Authority for this purpose. He has to issue a letter of discharge to the serviceman even after the military court has sentenced him. Consequently, the serviceman remains in service and continues to receive remuneration, pending the conclusion of the administrative discharge process.

The amendment will streamline the process and remove the requirement for the Proper Authority to additionally discharge a regular serviceman who has been sentenced by a military court to be discharged with ignominy or dismissed.

Period of close arrest of servicemen

Clause 4 of the Bill seeks to amend section 27 of the Enlistment Act by inserting, immediately after paragraph (c) of subsection (2), a new paragraph (d) and subsection (3), to provide that any period during which a serviceman is placed under close arrest on a charge for which he is subsequently convicted, shall not be considered as service reckoned towards the fulfilment of National Service. A serviceman may be put under close arrest pending investigation and disciplinary proceeding for certain serious offences such as "drug consumption" or "absent without official leave". Presently, the period of close arrest is reckoned towards the fulfilment of National Service under the Enlistment Act.

Servicemen under close arrest are remanded at the SAF Detention Barracks. They do not undergo military training or render actual service. Therefore, the period of close arrest should not be deemed as service if they are eventually convicted. This would also bring the Enlistment Act in line with the SAF Act, which states that servicemen shall not be paid during the period of close arrest if they are subsequently convicted.

The amendment will exclude periods of close arrest as service reckoned towards the fulfilment of National Service, if the serviceman is subsequently convicted.

Parliament is requested to approve the amendments.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Cedric Foo Chee Keng].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.