SINGAPORE, July 17 — One of two officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) pleaded guilty today to a reduced charge of committing a negligent act that caused the death of a full-time national serviceman in a ragging incident two years ago. 

In May 2018, Corporal Kok Yuen Chin, then 22, drowned in a pump well at Tuas View Fire Station. It was SCDF’s first death from ragging.

Lieutenant Kenneth Chong Chee Boon, 39, was initially charged — along with First Senior Warrant Officer Nazhan Mohamed Nazi, 42 — with aiding a group of servicemen to cause grievous hurt.

Chong was the commander of Rota 3, Kok’s team, at Tuas View Fire Station. Nazhan was his deputy.

Both men were accused of committing a rash act by not preventing their subordinates from making Kok enter a 12m-deep pump well, which contained 11m of water, on May 13, 2018.

Delivering his verdict today, Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun, however, found that there was insufficient evidence to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

He reduced the charges against both men to a negligent act that endangered human life by failing to prevent their subordinates from carrying out the "kolam” activity on Kok. Kolam, which is Malay for well, refers to the ragging activity of entering the well.

Chong pleaded guilty to the amended charge after consulting his lawyer Wee Pan Lee. Nazhan, represented by lawyer Singa Retnam, said he would contest the charge. 

Chong will be sentenced on Aug 18. He could be jailed up to three months, fined up to S$1,500 (RM4,603.49), or given both penalties. 

Kok, a Singapore permanent resident from Malaysia who did not know how to swim, was taken out of the well after several failed attempts to rescue him.

Commanders showed ‘dereliction of duty’

Senior District Judge Ong gave several reasons for clearing the two commanders of the more serious charge. 

He said that they were not present at the well when Kok was pushed into it and had no chance to intervene or take preventive action.

There was also no consensus among the servicemen as to what "kolam” entailed and no clear evidence of a common intention to push him in, the judge said. 

Most of the servicemen were taken aback when Sergeant Muhammad Nur Fatwa Mahmood, who was given 13 months’ jail for his actions, took matters into his own hands and pushed Kok in. 

Senior District Judge Ong also noted that Kok had begun taking off his clothes and belongings. This meant that the other servicemen reasonably expected him to enter the well of his own accord.

The judge said that the acts of the servicemen had gone no further than taunting and egging Kok to enter the well, which merely conveyed an expectation for him to do so. 

Even so, Senior District Judge Ong said that Chong and Nazhan had shown a "dereliction of duty”.

He said: "The safety of all servicemen under their charge should have been their utmost priority. They were legally obliged as Kok’s commanders to ensure his life and safety were not endangered while he was on duty. 

"The onus fell on both accused persons to have prevented the kolam activity from being carried out. Their failure to do so amounted to an illegal mission.” 

Both men have been barred from service since July 28, 2018.

What happened

A group of SCDF officers, including Chong and Nazhan, had gathered at the fire station’s watch room on the evening of May 13, 2018 to celebrate Kok’s last duty tour before his National Service stint was to end three days later.

They presented him with a cake and plaque in the watch room, before some of them carried him out to the well.

During the trial, the court heard testimony from various SCDF crew at the scene that night. Several video clips of the watch room and Kok being carried out to the well were also repeatedly played in court.

Chong did not follow his men out of the room, but stayed behind to chat with another colleague.

It was only when he turned his head around and glanced out the window that he noticed a group of men had gathered around the well.

He testified that he opened the window and immediately shouted "no filming” at the men. This was because SCDF’s management team is particular about the posting of such unofficial activities, he had said. 

He had believed Kok would voluntarily enter the well and did not think his being dunked amounted to ragging.

The court had also heard that Nazhan told Kok to jump closer to the ledge of the well, and told the others not to take photos or videos of the incident before he returned to his office.

When another of Kok’s colleagues asked him if he was ready, he replied in Malay: "Belum, encik (no, sir).”

Several of them goaded him to jump in and he responded with "cannot, encik”, which turned out to be his last words. 

Fatwa then pushed him into the well. Another SCDF staff member, First Warrant Officer Mohamed Farid Mohd Saleh, 35, was convicted after a trial and sentenced to 13 months’ jail for abetting Fatwa by instigating him to push Kok. 

Fatwa was sentenced to 13 months’ jail in 2018. The 34-year-old specialist in hazardous materials pleaded guilty to pushing Kok into the well and instigating Staff Sergeant Adighazali Suhaimi to delete a video recording of the act.

Adighazali, 33, spent a month in jail for obstructing the course of justice by deleting the video. — TODAY