SCDF ragging death: 2 officers dismissed after serving jail time for pushing NSF into well, deleting footage

SINGAPORE — Two Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers who were convicted over the death of full-time national serviceman (NSF) Kok Yuen Chin have been dismissed from service, SCDF told TODAY on Wednesday (Sept 23).

Mr Muhammad Nur Fatwa Mahmood, 35, and Mr Adighazali Suhaimi, 34, pleaded guilty in 2018 to respectively pushing Kok into the well and deleting video footage of the act. 

Both men held the rank of staff sergeant at the time of the incident.

Corporal Kok, a Singapore permanent resident from Malaysia, was 22 when he drowned in a pump well at Tuas View Fire Station on May 13, 2018.

A group of SCDF officers had gathered at the fire station’s watch room that evening to celebrate Kok’s last duty tour before his National Service stint was to end three days later.

He was pushed into a 12m-deep well filled with 11m of water and later pulled out when he struggled to stay afloat. 

It took several attempts to rescue him. 

Five officers were charged over his death and suspended from service. The last two officers were dealt with in court last week. 

DISMISSED

• Mr Fatwa was sentenced to 12 months and four weeks’ jail in October 2018. The former Hazardous Materials specialist admitted to pushing Kok into the well and instigating Mr Adighazali to delete footage of the act. 

• Mr Adighazali was given a month of jail time in December 2018 for deleting footage of the incident.

DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS ONGOING

• First Warrant Officer Mohamed Farid Mohd Saleh, 37, was jailed for 13 months in November last year after being found guilty of telling Mr Fatwa to push Kok into the well. 

• Lieutenant Kenneth Chong Chee Boon, 39, who was Kok’s commander, was sentenced to 10 weeks’ jail on Sept 15. He was convicted after trial of a reduced charge of committing a negligent act that caused Kok’s death.

NO FURTHER ACTION YET

• First Senior Warrant Officer Nazhan Mohamed Nazi, who was Chong’s deputy, was also convicted of a lesser charge and sentenced to 10 weeks’ jail. The 42-year-old has appealed against his conviction and sentence. SCDF will wait for the outcome before taking any further disciplinary action.

• The police had referred eight other officers — six regulars and two full-time national servicemen — to the SCDF for departmental investigations which can only begin after the outcome of Nazhan’s appeal “so as not to affect the judicial process”, SCDF said.