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SINGAPORE: Two Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) servicemen were charged on Wednesday (Jul 31) in military court over the death of national serviceman Aloysius Pang, the Ministry of Defence said.

The two are Military Expert 2 (ME2) Ivan Teo, aged 35, and Third Sergeant (National Service) Hubert Wah, aged 31.



Proceedings have been adjourned and are set to resume in four weeks. Both the accused are out on bail and will apply for pro bono legal services.

The military court martial is presided over by a serving State Courts judge, the ministry said in a news release earlier.





ME2 Teo faces three charges – one charge for disobedience of general orders under Section 21 of the SAF Act, and two charges for causing death by negligent act under Section 304A(b) of the Penal Code.



A serviceman convicted for disobedience of general orders faces jail of up to two years. A person convicted for causing death by negligent act faces up to two years' jail, a fine, or both.



3SG (NS) Wah faces two charges – causing death by rash act under Section 304A(a) of the Penal Code, and causing death by negligent act under Section 304A(b) of the Penal Code.

A person convicted for causing death by rash act faces imprisonment of up to five years, a fine, or both.

As Pang died in New Zealand, the Singapore Police Force does not have jurisdiction to conduct investigations into his death, the Ministry of Defence said in its news release.

"Investigations into his death were conducted by the SAF’s Special Investigation Branch (SIB), and the Chief Military Prosecutor has decided to prosecute the two SAF servicemen based on the investigation findings of the SIB," it said.



Corporal First Class (NS) Pang died in January after sustaining serious injuries during an SAF training exercise in New Zealand. He was crushed between the gun barrel and cabin while carrying out maintenance work in a Singapore Self-Propelled Howitzer (SSPH).



The 28-year-old actor was in New Zealand for Exercise Thunder Warrior, a live firing exercise involving the howitzer.



The accident that led to his death was caused by lapses by Pang and two other servicemen who were in the SSPH at the time, a Committee of Inquiry (COI) found.



The five-member committee, which interviewed more than 20 people involved in the incident, also found no evidence indicating that the accident was caused by foul play or deliberate acts, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen told Parliament in a ministerial statement in May.

