The “generally higher” compensation amounts comes in “recognition of the risks borne by our servicemen during military training and operations”, said Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen. (Yahoo News Singapore file photo)

The compensation sums offered by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) for injuries or deaths that occur during training or operations are “generally two to four times that of amounts provided under the national compensation framework”.

This information was shared by Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on Monday (19 November) in a written reply to a query raised by Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Terence Ho. The question was on whether the SAF deemed its current assistance and compensation amounts as “sufficient” in light of the recent training accidents.

On 3 November, Corporal First Class (CFC) Liu Kai, 22, was involved in a fatal vehicular accident during training. Prior to that, CFC Dave Lee, 19, died of heat injuries after completing an 8km fast march in April.

In his reply, Ng said that the Ministry of Defence’s (Mindef) compensation framework tracks the amounts prescribed by the Work Injury Compensation Act (Wica) but would be “generally higher”.

This comes in “recognition of the risks borne by our servicemen during military training and operations”, he added. Additional compensation may also be granted in exceptional circumstances or if the serviceman involved was found to have gone beyond the call of duty.

Additional support provided

Ng noted that the SAF also provides welfare support through grants from the SAF Benevolent Fund. The amounts disbursed from the fund are aimed at meeting the “immediate needs of servicemen who have passed away as well as provide financial assistance to the serviceman’s family”.

On top of these provisions, servicemen are also covered by $150,000 in Group Term Life and $150,000 in Group Personal Accident insurance – the premiums for which are paid by Mindef, said Ng.

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