NSF dies in vehicular accident during field training exercise in Singapore

SINGAPORE - A Singapore Armed Forces full-time national serviceman, Private Liu Kai, died in a vehicular accident at Jalan Murai training area on Saturday morning (Nov 3).

An army-wide safety timeout on training has been called with immediate effect to ensure all appropriate safety measures are in place, said the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) in a statement on Saturday evening.

Pte Liu, 22, a transport operator from the SAF's Transport Hub West, was operating a Land Rover as part of a field training exercise when a Bionix vehicle reversed into his vehicle.

He lost consciousness and was attended to immediately by an on-site medic. The SAF Emergency Ambulance Service and the Singapore Civil Defence Force were activated at 10.17am and were on-site at 10.30am.

Pte Liu, however, succumbed to his injuries, and was pronounced dead at around 10.35am, said Mindef.

The statement added that police investigations are ongoing and an independent Committee of Inquiry will be convened to investigate the circumstances leading to the incident.

The army is also rendering assistance and support to the family of Pte Liu, said Mindef.

In 2017, Third Sergeant Gavin Chan, 21, died in an incident during Exercise Wallaby, which is Singapore's biggest overseas deployment of military personnel.

3SG Chan, who was the vehicle commander, had been guiding a Bionix Infantry Fighting Vehicle out of difficult terrain that day when it landed on its side.

He was found unconscious next to the vehicle, while the driver and two passengers were unhurt.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.