|
 |
|
Source:
www.mindef.gov.sg
|
|
Minister Teo Chee Hean Replies To Parliamentary
Questions On CPL Dave Teo |
|
SPEECH BY MR TEO CHEE HEAN,MINISTER FOR DEFENCE,
AT PARLIAMENT SITTING, 17 SEPTEMBER 2007, 1.30 PM AT PARLIAMENT
HOUSE |
|
An Excerpt |
|
|
HBOI Case Findings |
|
Mr Speaker, Sir, let me now turn to the
HBOI’s findings on the case in question. CPL Dave Teo Ming, a 20 year
old fulltime National Serviceman, was serving as an Infantryman in the
1st Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment, or 1 SIR. |
|
Prior to enlistment CPL Teo was assessed to
be suitable for service as an infantryman. CPL Teo’s service record
during full-time NS, from his enlistment till 2 September 2007 did not
indicate behaviour that warranted disqualification from bearing
firearms. |
|
CPL Teo was observed to have performed well
during his unit's overseas proficiency evaluation exercise in April this
year. |
|
CPL Teo was interviewed by his Platoon
Commander in June this year, who noted that that he was stressed over
relationship problems with his girlfriend. |
|
However, in the two interviews following
that, the last being in August, he did not raise the issue of his failed
relationship again. During the two weeks prior to the incident on 2
September, neither his Platoon Commander nor his bunk mate noticed any
unusual behaviour by CPL Teo. |
|
CPL Teo was on Guard Duty and assigned
patrol duties at Mandai Hill Camp on the night of 2 September
2007. In line with procedures, he was properly issued his personal
firearm, a SAR 21 rifle, and five rounds of 5.56mm ammunition at
the start of his shift at 2000hrs. |
|
His Guard Commander realised that he
was absent from his place of duty at 2359hrs, when he did not
return his firearm and ammunition at the end of his shift. |
|
A search was immediately initiated for
the missing serviceman as well as for his firearm and ammunition. |
|
When preliminary investigations by the
Military Police indicated that the missing firearm and ammunition
were no longer on the camp premises, the Singapore Police were
contacted at 0545hrs. |
|
The SAF worked closely with the Police
and at about 2000hrs on 3 September 2007, CPL Teo was apprehended
at Orchard Cineleisure. I must commend the Police on a job well
done in apprehending CPL Teo and in recovering his weapon and the
ammunition. |
|
When CPL Teo was arrested, his firearm
and eight rounds of ammunition were recovered. |
|
All five rounds of 5.56mm ammunition
which were issued to him for guard duty on 2 September were
recovered. |
|
Investigations have traced the
additional three 5.56mm tracer rounds to a batch of ammunition
that was used during a section live firing exercise that CPL Teo
participated in two weeks earlier, in August 2007. The police and
the SAF are still investigating exactly how he acquired these
three tracer rounds. |
|
HBOI Conclusions about Lapses |
|
Sir, the HBOI concluded that although
the SAF’s systems and procedures are generally adequate, this
incident involved three lapses specific to this situation. |
|
First, there were weaknesses in the
implementation and supervision of Guard Room procedures at Mandai
Hill Camp that night. |
|
Secondly, weaknesses in the physical
construction of Mandai Hill Camp also enabled CPL Teo to slip out
without being detected. |
|
Thirdly, in terms of post-incident
management, there was non-compliance with reporting procedures
which require the quick reporting of all serious incidents, such
as those involving missing arms and ammunition. |
|
Guard Room Duties |
|
There are clear procedures, laid out
in detail, for all activities under the purview of the Guard Room.
Guard duties involve sentry and patrolling duties. |
|
CPL Teo was assigned patrolling duties
on the night of the incident. Procedures require patrolling duties
to be conducted on 2 hour shifts and in pairs, to ensure mutual
support and responsibility while on duty. Guards on patrol duties
are also required to make situational reports to the Guard Room at
half hourly intervals. |
|
These procedures were not carried out
properly on the night that CPL Teo was on duty. If they had been
properly enforced, it would have been extremely difficult for him
to have left camp undetected, and even if he had managed to slip
out, his absence would probably have been detected and reported
earlier. |
|
Following this incident the SAF has
audited and reviewed the camp guard security of all SAF camps to
determine whether such non-compliance of orders and procedures
exist in other camps. |
|
The audit found that SAF camps comply
with the relevant orders and procedures, and that this is a
problem localised to this unit. Nonetheless, all SAF units have
reiterated the importance of adhering to orders and procedures,
and the SAF has stepped up the frequency of security audits of all
SAF camps to ensure compliance with stipulated camp guard
procedures. |
|
Camp Physical Security |
|
Investigations based on video footage
from the security cameras show that CPL Teo did not leave camp by
the Camp gates. |
|
Investigations have shown that CPL Teo
absconded by jumping off the far corner of the second floor
parapet of the Guard Room onto the car park outside the Camp
premises, and he was out of the visual scope of the other Guards. |
|
Before doing so, he had dismantled his
rifle and concealed it in his field pack. That he managed to do
so, revealed a weakness in the physical security of the camp –
which was designed to prevent unauthorised entry, rather than
unauthorised exit, - a weakness which has since been rectified at
Mandai Hill Camp. |
|
Since this incident, we have done a
thorough audit of the physical security of all SAF camps and guard
rooms. Most of them fully meet the physical security requirements.
A few require some improvements. We are in the process of
implementing these improvements and have tightened our camp
physical security standards. |
|
Post-Incident Reporting |
|
For serious security incidents such as
those involving missing arms and ammunition, the unit’s Duty
Operations Officer is required to report the incident to the
Army's General Staff Operations Centre, within 30 minutes. |
|
In this case, CPL Teo, together with
his firearm and ammunition, were discovered missing by the Guard
Commander at 2359hrs on 2 September, but the Army’s General Staff
Operations Centre was only informed of the incident at 0300hrs. |
|
The Military Police were alerted at
0330hrs. When preliminary investigations by the Military Police
indicated that the missing firearm and ammunition were no longer
on the camp premises, the Police were contacted at 0545hrs. |
|
This is a significant breach of
reporting standards. The criticality of swift reporting of
incidents, in particular those involving missing arms and
ammunition, has been impressed upon all SAF units. |
|
Mr Speaker, concrete action has been
taken to rectify the three lapses identified by the HBOI.
Personnel found to have been negligent in their conduct of duties
in this case will also be disciplinarily dealt with. |
|
Full Text of Speech |
|
Source:
www.mindef.gov.sg News
Release 17 Sep 2007 |
|
Related Article: |
|
-
Police arrest armed full-time national serviceman in
Orchard Road |
|
 |
|
Important
Notice |
|
Our FrontPage
Editions are a historical record of our Web site and reflect
the changing of the times, and also of our Web site through
time. We do not and will not update the links and stories on
these FrontPages even if they have become obsolete. |
|
FrontPage Edition: Mon 17 September 2007
All rights reserved
