REPLY BY MINISTER FOR DEFENCE, MR TEO CHEE HEAN, TO SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION ON STATUS OF INQUIRIES INTO THE DEATHS OF LATE 2LT LAM AND LATE REC CHEAH

Mr Siew Kum Hong: Mr Speaker sir, I will like to thank the Minister for his response and assurances to this House. I only have one supplementary question which is to ask the Minister what is the status of the inquiries by MINDEF into the deaths of the late 2LT Clifton Lam and the late REC Andrew Cheah? And given the public interest, will the results be made public?

Minister: Mr Speaker sir, in the case of 2LT Clifton Lam, the Higher Board of Inquiry convened by MINDEF has been completed and the cause of 2LT Lam's death is heat stroke.

For all training activities, trainees are constantly reminded to hydrate themselves. There are water breaks and water parades where trainees drink water. In the event where there is an exercise where the trainee is required to take responsibility for himself, such as in this case of the training that 2LT Lam was undergoing, which was a 3-day jungle confidence course, they were given safety briefings and were provided with 4 litres of water each and purification tablets to purify stream or river water for drinking. The HBOI established that 2LT Lam may not have hydrated himself adequately during this period of training.

The HBOI looked into the SAF safety systems, and was satisfied that these were in place and that there was no safety breach. Neither was there foul play or negligence on the part of any personnel.

In the case of REC Andrew Cheah, the Committee of Inquiry investigation has been completed. Based on the autopsy report, the cause of REC Cheah's death is acute pneumonitis. I should point out that in neither case was the cause of death linked to medical screening as such. The cause of REC Cheah's death was determined by the autopsy report as acute pneumonitis. This is an acute infection causing extensive inflammation of the lungs. The typical symptoms are cough, phlegm, fever, pain in the chest, body aches and difficulty in breathing. However, it is possible, the doctors tell us, for a person to suffer from lung infection and yet not develop cough or fever. And this was indeed the case for REC Cheah. The infection was abrupt and caused his condition to deteriorate rapidly.

REC Cheah told his section mates before the 2-km walk that he felt a little breathless. During the walk, his instructor, who was walking with REC Cheah, observed that he looked tired and was breathing hard. However, he had no other observable symptoms such as cough or fever. In these circumstances, it was difficult for his instructors or platoon mates or indeed for REC Cheah himself to have known that the breathlessness was caused by acute pneumonitis and not simply fatigue.

The instructor asked REC Cheah whether he was not feeling well. REC Cheah replied that he was just tired. Hence, the instructor allowed REC Cheah to continue with the walk around the stadium in Pulau Tekong Camp and did not pull him out as REC Cheah was able to converse with him, answer his questions with clarity in speech and thought.

The COI concluded that the instructor's decision to let REC Cheah continue with the walk was not unreasonable.

The COI concluded that there was no safety breach. Neither was there foul play or negligence on the part of any personnel.

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