SINGAPORE – Two commanders from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) who were previously convicted of reduced charges in the 2018 ragging death case will face their original, more serious charges, following a decision by the High Court.

On Monday (April 5), Justice See Kee Oon ruled that former Tuas View Fire Station rota commander Kenneth Chong Chee Boon, 40, and his deputy, Nazhan Mohamed Nazi, 42, were guilty of intentionally aiding the servicemen to cause grievous hurt to Corporal (Cpl) Kok Yuen Chin by doing a rash act which endangered human life.

Cpl Kok, who was 22, drowned in a pump well during the ragging incident in May 2018.

The two officers were each sentenced to 10 weeks’ jail in September last year for their involvement, after they were convicted of acting negligently.

Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun had said then that they had been “grossly negligent”.

But in his oral remarks on Monday, Justice See said Judge Ong had erred in finding that the prosecution had failed to prove the more serious charges against the two accused persons, and that the original charges had been proved beyond reasonable doubt.

He allowed the prosecution’s appeals and convicted both the accused, and will hear submissions on sentencing and their mitigation pleas at a later date.

For abetting the causing of grievous hurt by a rash act, the commanders could be jailed for up to four years, or fined up to $10,000, or both.

More on this topic

Join ST’s Telegram channel here and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Source: Read Full Article