SCDF officer charged with leaving NSF firefighter alone in fatal Henderson blaze

SINGAPORE: A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officer was charged on Monday (Oct 16) with causing grievous hurt to a 19-year-old full-time national serviceman (NSF) by leaving him alone to fight a fire in a flat.

The NSF, Sergeant 1 (SGT1) Edward H Go, suffocated to death after his air cylinder was depleted. He is the first firefighter to die because of an SCDF operation.

The officer, 38-year-old Muhammad Kamil Mohamed Yasin, was handed one count of causing grievous hurt by a rash act endangering life or personal safety.

He is accused of exiting the flat at Block 91, Henderson Road and leaving SGT1 Go alone while there was an ongoing fire.

This allegedly occurred from 11.44am to 1.34pm on Dec 8, 2022, and Muhammad Kamil is accused of failing to inform any other person that he had left SGT1 Go alone in the flat. This was against SCDF protocols.

Police investigations did not find any evidence suggesting SGT1 Go's death was due to equipment failure.

Muhammad Kamil came to court with a group of supporters. His lawyer, Mr Ashwin Ganapathy and Ms A Meenakshi of IRB Law, said they had just been briefed.

Mr Ganapathy said he intended to write in so he could interview another SCDF officer involved in this case. 

The prosecution said they did not have any sentencing position at this point.

The case was adjourned for a pre-trial conference next month.

If convicted, Muhammad Kamil could be jailed for up to four years, fined up to S$10,000, or both.

SCDF is investigating a second officer, who allegedly failed to ensure the overall safety of the firefighting operation when he arrived and took over command and control of the incident.

In a statement on Saturday, SCDF said Muhammad Kamil holds the rank of Warrant Officer (2) and has been suspended on half-pay since Oct 19.

He was removed from frontline duties and placed in an administrative support role since Aug 23.