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Bionix incident: SAF captain found guilty of rash act in death of NSF Liu Kai

Bionix incident: SAF captain found guilty of rash act in death of NSF Liu Kai

The hearse carrying CFC Liu Kai being escorted as it arrives at Mandai Crematorium on Nov 6, 2018. (Photo: Howard Law)

SINGAPORE: A Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) captain has been found guilty of a rash act linked to the death of a full-time national serviceman (NSF) who died after being pinned in a Land Rover by a Bionix vehicle three years ago.

Ong Lin Jie, 30, was convicted on Monday (Nov 22) of one charge of doing a rash act not amounting to culpable homicide by failing to keep a safe distance of 30m between the two vehicles.

Ong, a regular officer and platoon trainer with the Armour Unit Training Regiment, was taking part in a three-day training exercise near Sungei Gedong Camp in November 2018 with the victim, 22-year-old Liu Kai.

BACKGROUND OF THE CASE

The training exercise involved the Kaffir Company and Jaguar Company from the 42nd Battalion, Singapore Armoured Regiment and was meant to train Kaffir Company's operational capabilities.

Kaffir Company was tasked to advance towards and secure an objective known as the Murai Urban Training Facility, while the platoon from Jaguar Company acted as the "opposition force" for the exercise, and was to delay Kaffir Company's advance with a series of "delay lines" and simulated firefights.

The opposition force consisted of three Bionix Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) - BX13A, BX13B and BX13, the vehicle involved in the fatal incident.

Ong was a platoon trainer, tasked to oversee the opposition force's manoeuvres and ensure that the force adhered to safety procedures. He was also the vehicle commander of the Land Rover driven by CFC Liu. The Rover was assigned to him so he could move around the exercise area in his role as a platoon trainer.

Ong ordered the victim, who was posthumously promoted to Corporal First Class (CFC), to overtake BX13 without first establishing communications with the Bionix and when it was unsafe to do so.

As a result, the Bionix - an armoured tracked vehicle armed with either a cannon or an automatic grenade launcher and heavy machine gun - reversed into the Land Rover, mounting the driver's side and pinning CFC Liu in his seat.

The prosecution had argued that Ong had rashly ordered CFC Liu to overtake the Bionix, "despite having every reason to believe that it was dangerous to do so in the circumstances".

"His rash act placed the Land Rover in an unsafe proximity to BX13, which was the substantial cause of the collision, and ultimately, Liu Kai's death," they said.

ONG'S DEFENCE

In his defence, Ong had given two reasons for ordering CFC Liu to overtake the Bionix with his Land Rover.

First, he did not want to be in the way of a "fire fight", as he assessed that the Kaffir Company Forces were still in the north, and there was a "high possibility" that they might come through and engage BX13 from its rear.

Second, he assessed that the platoon commander of Jaguar Company had spotted BX13B to be at the junction ahead, based on radio communication.

He blamed BX13 for CFC Liu's death, alleging that it changed course while reversing, which brought it into the path of the Land Rover.

Ong had been questioned over a period of more than five months from the day of the incident. In her judgment on Monday, District Judge Jasvender Kaur said she did not hold the contents of his first two statements against him, as they were recorded on the same day of the "traumatic incident".

However, in his third statement on Nov 5, 2018, Ong said he had "revisited" events and wanted to make additions to his statement to be "very clear" and assist investigations. He gave details relating to the collision, but did not disclose that he ordered an overtake of the Bionix.

THE JUDGE ON ONG'S "SELECTIVE AMNESIA"

When confronted with investigation findings that he had ordered the overtaking of BX13, Ong initially said he could not recall and was "in shock and in trauma", with a gap in his memory.

The judge said Ong's evidence that he was "surprised" that he gave the command to overtake squarely contradicts an assertion he made that he had assessed it to be safe before he gave the command.

"With respect to his claim of the 'gap' in his memory, (a statement Ong gave) provided details of the events which preceded and followed the overtaking," said Judge Kaur.

"He coincidentally lost recollection only of the overtaking. This is inherently implausible and I find his selective amnesia was deliberate."

During the investigation process, Ong had asked to listen to footage when asked to explain the reason for ordering CFC Liu to bypass the Bionix.

However, after viewing the footage "for quite a while", he concluded that he could not recall why he ordered the overtaking, saying that he could not make out some of the words spoken in the footage.

The judge concluded that Ong again had "selective amnesia" and was unable to explain how he had "properly considered" the situation before directing the overtaking.

She found that the collision was "the natural consequence of the lack of safe distance for the Bionix to execute its extrication manoeuvre which was caused by the Land Rover's failure to adhere to the 30m safety distance" and its failure to communicate its intention to overtake when it was unsafe to do so.

"The duty of ensuring the safety distance and to communicate was the responsibility of the accused," said Judge Kaur. 

She did not find that the actions of the corporal who reversed BX13 had eclipsed Ong's wrongdoing, or broke the chain of causation. Instead, she ruled that it was Ong's actions which were the substantial cause of CFC Liu's demise.

Ong, who has been suspended, will return to court for mitigation and sentencing in December.

For a rash act not amounting to culpable homicide, he can be jailed for up to five years, fined, or both.

Others have been hauled to court over the incident, with three men fined in December 2019 for breaching the Official Secrets Act over leaked photos of the accident.

Source: CNA/ll(ac)
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