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http://www.genome.duke.edu/people/faculty/tan/
Tony Tan’s son served NS as a ’scientist’ and NOT as a combat-fit MO
While most Singaporean doctors have to serve their National Service as SAF medical officers (MOs) and not in their chosen fields, a few have the privilege of going through ’special service pathways’ which are almost unheard of to outsiders.
According to a tip-off we received, Dr Patrick Tan Boon Ooi, the son of PAP-endorsed presidential candidate Dr Tony Tan served his National Service as a desk-bound ‘defense medical scientist’ in an office rather than a SAF MO out in the field.
A President scholar, Dr Patrick Tan disrupted from the army to study in Harvard University in 1988. He then disrupted again to enrol in Stanford University to study medicine from 1992 to 2000.
Upon his return in 2000, he did not complete the rest of his National Service as a SAF MO like all Singaporean doctors, but as a ‘defense research scientist’ at the Defence Medical and Environmental Research Institute (DMERI, then called DMRI), a post he continued to hold till 2004, two years after his ORD. (read his CV here)
In a clarification posted on his Facebook, the Office of Dr Tony Tan revealed that Dr Patrick Tan had fulfilled his IPPT requirements:
“Throughout his National Service, he received an NSman’s salary and fulfilled all requirements of NS such as IPPT and in-camp training. Today, Dr Tan’s son is still a practicing researcher in genomics, specializing in both cancer and infectious disease.”
Since Dr Patrick Tan is COMBAT-FIT, why didn’t he attend the Medical Officer Cadet Course (MOCC) and serve in a combat vocation like all other doctors?
Dr Tony Tan was the Defence Minister from 1995 to 2003. Who made the decision to send Dr Patrick Tan to work in DMRI instead of going through MOCC?
What are the criteria for doctors to serve as defense scientists? Are there other doctors who went through the same ’service pathway’ as Dr Patrick Tan too?
Can Singapore doctors who are planning to become Family Physicians serve their NS in polyclinics too instead of wasting their precious two years learning and doing irrelevant stuff like boarding NSFs and doing FFIs for NSmen?
During the recent General Election, PAP candidate (now MP) from Malaysia Dr Janil Puthucheary humiliated Singapore men and demeaned NS by boasting publicly that he also served ‘10 years of NS by saving kids’ lives’.
It is even more depressing to learn now that the son of a PAP Defence Minister might have done a ‘Puthucheary’ ten years earlier.
Dr Tony Tan should come clean with Singaporeans and explained whether Dr Patrick Tan was accorded preferential treatment to serve his NS as a defence medical scientist. To put it bluntly, if Dr Patrick Tan is not the son of Dr Tony Tan, will he still be posted to the same vocation?
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