SINGAPORE - Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen has announced that MINDEF will start an SAF Care Fund for severely disabled servicemen. Minister Ng said that the fund will be built up by MINDEF and will supplement MINDEF's existing compensation and welfare schemes for servicemen and women who are injured in the line of duty. Members of the public can also contribute to the care fund. The minister said that The Lee Foundation has donated S$950,000 into the fund, in addition to S$1 million in public contributions. Mr Ng said that he had visited the bedside of injured Navy serviceman Jason Chee, who lost both legs and a hand in an accident while serving on board the RSS Endeavour last year. Mr Chee's condition has improved enough that he has been moved out of the ICU into a general ward, the minister said. Mr Ng said, "I decided we can and should do more. We must try our best to avoid injuries and death but no one can guarantee that our soldiers will always be safe. In protecting us, the SAF conducts many operations each year, both at home and abroad." "Indeed, we send our men and women in uniform regularly to high-risk areas like Afghanistan and off the coast of Somalia. We pray that it will never happen but we must prepare for incidents where many may be injured." "The harsh reality is that risks come with every soldier’s duties."