Another NSman Pleads Guilty To 2 Charges For Negligence & Disobedience Under SAF Act
In the blink of an eye, 10 months have gone by since the tragic demise of actor Aloysius Pang that shook Singapore.
Since then, a Committee of Inquiry (COI) finding revealed that 2 servicemen had behaved irrationally in a state of panic.
On Tuesday (19 Nov), 3SG (NS) Hubert Wah – 1 of the 2 servicemen – admitted in military court to causing the death of 28-year-old Aloysius Pang.
3SG (NS) Hubert Wah
Source
He was fined $8,000 in default of 40 days’ detention.
31-year-old NSman fined for causing death of Aloysius Pang
According to ChannelNews Asia (CNA), 31-year-old 3SG (NS) Wah failed to ensure that CFC (NS) Pang was out of the way of the flick rammer in the Singapore Self-Propelled Howitzer that they were troubleshooting.
The flick rammer crushed CFC (NS) Pang against the back of the cabin, which caused his eventual death.
3SG (NS) Wah reportedly pleaded guilty to causing death by a negligent act in the military court on 19 Nov.
He was subsequently fined $8,000 and demoted from the rank of 3SG to CPL.
3SG (NS) Wah will also be detained for 40 days if he does not pay the fine.
This came after CFC (NS) Aloysius Pang’s family pleaded for only a $5,000 fine to be imposed.
NS regular faces $7,000 fine
On the same day, ME2 Teo, the 2nd serviceman who “behaved irrationally” also pleaded guilty to 2 charges under the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) act:
- Negligent act of endangering life
- Disobedience of general orders
ME2 Teo’s punishment was slightly more lenient and was fined $7,000 in default of 35 days’ detention.
Aloysius Pang succumbed to his injuries on 23 Jan
To recap, 28-year-old actor Aloysius Pang passed away on 23 Jan at 8.45pm after sustaining injuries during an SAF exercise in New Zealand.
He suffered major injuries to his chest and abdominal areas during Exercise Thunder Warrior.
He was reportedly carrying out repair works on a Singapore Self-Propelled Howitzer when it happened.
Following the incident, Mr Pang underwent multiple surgeries at Waikato Hospital. Despite surgical attempts to repair his damaged organs and placing him under artificial life support, he passed away.
Let’s hope there won’t be any of such incidents again
While no punishment imposed can possibly replace the loss of a Singaporean son, we hope the sentencing will provide the late actor’s family members with a semblance of closure.
With new guidelines introduced after the incident, let’s hope we will never hear of such incidents in the future again.
Featured image adapted from Aloysius Pang on Instagram.
