ST Forum 8 April 09- Death of SAF doctor: Mindef replies to family's letter

Death of SAF doctor: Mindef replies to family's letter

WE REFER to last Thursday's letter from the family of the late Captain (Dr) Allan Ooi, 'Family of dead SAF doctor seeks answers'.
Mindef would have preferred to keep the exchanges private, out of respect for the late Capt (Dr) Ooi and his family.

As the letter has raised several matters, it is necessary for Mindef to provide some factual clarifications.

The six-month Aviation Medicine course that Capt (Dr) Ooi attended in Britain from January last year had a three-year bond, to be served concurrently with his 12-year Local Study Award (Medicine) bond.

This was explained to Capt (Dr) Ooi when he and his two sureties signed the course deed on Dec 19, 2007, before he left for Britain.

Mindef also sent Capt (Dr) Ooi an e-mail to confirm this. He acknowledged receiving the e-mail. It is thus untrue that his 12-year bond would be 'prolonged by another three years for one six-month course'.

After he returned from Britain on July 23 last year, he told his superior at the Aeromedical Centre that he was unhappy at work and wanted to leave the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).

Mindef's records show that Capt (Dr) Ooi had written to the Head of Manpower at Headquarters Medical Corps on Aug 12 last year and not 'July 2008', expressing his wish to resign.

The Head of Manpower replied on Aug 20, explaining to him the application process for early release. But Capt (Dr) Ooi did not apply for early release.

On Oct 3, his superior interviewed him and offered him the option of posting to an appointment of his choice. Capt (Dr) Ooi thanked his superior and promised to respond in two weeks. But he did not do so and went Absent Without Official Leave (Awol) on Oct 15.

Officers sponsored by the SAF know that they have a moral obligation to serve out the full period of their bonds, which goes beyond the legal obligation to pay the liquidated damages if the bond is broken.

Substantial public funds have been invested in their training. They are, in turn, expected to do their duty unless prevented from doing so because of extenuating circumstances, like medical reasons.

The family of the late Capt (Dr) Ooi asked for an inquiry into Mindef's policies and processes on the premise that this would avert a similar tragedy.

Mindef convened a Board of Inquiry on March 11, which concluded that matters related to the late Capt (Dr) Ooi's service with the SAF were managed appropriately.

While the late Capt (Dr) Ooi was unhappy with his job and had wished to resign, he subsequently went Awol even though he had been told of other possible job options.

Mindef will continue to be as open and helpful as possible to the family of the late Capt (Dr) Ooi and also provide the facts of the case to the public while respecting the privacy of the family.

Colonel Darius Lim
Director Public Affairs
Ministry of Defence

April 8, 2009
SAF doctor found dead
Mindef clarifies doc's bond
By Jermyn Chow

Singapore Armed Forces Captain (Dr) Allan Ooi, 27, was found dead under the Westgate Bridge in the South Australian city of Melbourne on 3 March 2009. --PHOTO: FACEBOOK

THE Defence Ministry has addressed for a second time issues raised by the family of Captain (Dr) Allan Ooi, who had gone absent without official leave for five months before being found dead in Melbourne, Australia, last month.
In a letter to the media on Tuesday, the ministry said it would have preferred to keep such exchanges private out of respect for Capt (Dr) Ooi and his family. However, it said an earlier letter by the family had raised 'several issues', and it was necessary to clarify them.

Among them, said Mindef spokesman Darius Lim, was the three-year bond Capt (Dr) Ooi had to serve after he was sent for a six-month stint in aviation medicine in London in January last year.

In a letter to the press last week, the family claimed that this bond was to be served on top of the Republic of Singapore Air Force medical officer's 12-year medicine scholarship bond - in effect, making it a three-year bond for a six-month course.

However, Colonel Lim said yesterday that this was untrue. He said the bonds were to be served concurrently, and this was explained to Capt (Dr) Ooi when he signed the contract in December 2007 before flying off to London. In fact, two of his family members signed the contract as his sureties.

Added Col Lim: 'Mindef also sent Capt (Dr) Ooi an e-mail to confirm this. He acknowledged receiving the mail.'

When the SAF scholarship holder returned from his London training stint last July, he had told his superior at the Aeromedical Centre that he was unhappy at work and wanted out of the SAF.

About a month later - on Aug 12, not in July, as his family had said - Capt (Dr) Ooi wrote to the Head of Manpower at Headquarters Medical Corps, expressing his intention to quit.

On Aug 20, the Head of Manpower replied, and explained how to apply for an early release.

But Capt (Dr) Ooi did not submit an application, said Col Lim. On Oct 3, the doctor's superior offered him the option of a 'posting to an appointment of his choice'.

The family barking up the wrong tree. And it is evident that they have little clue what he was doing.

Looks to be the case. Curious to see what happens at the Melbourne Coroner's Inquest though, although since Ooi is not an Oz citizen, might just go through the motions.

Btw I think it is abit rich of Col Darius to claim that Mindef would have preferred a private exchange with Ooi's family when Mindef unilaterally issued a public statement in the forum pages of both ST and Today in the first place

scroobal said:

The family barking up the wrong tree. And it is evident that they have little clue what he was doing.

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Porfirio Rubirosa said:

Looks to be the case.
Btw I think it is abit rich of Col Darius to claim that Mindef would have preferred a private exchange with Ooi's family when Mindef unilaterally issued a public statement in the forum pages of both ST and Today in the first place

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Agree and typical of Govt style.

scroobal said:

The family barking up the wrong tree. And it is evident that they have little clue what he was doing.

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And are they trying to find out his thought process before he died via this inquiry?

jw5 said:

And are they trying to find out his thought process before he died via this inquiry?

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I am actually amazed that they held the inquiry before the Coroner's Inquiry.

Why? BOI was to look into Mindef's position i.e. whether it had acted appropriately in dealing with Ooi, limited terms of reference...don't really need to wait for CI to conduct such a BOI I should think.

As an aside, my eyebrows were raised when I read this part of Col Darius' letter:

Officers sponsored by the SAF know that they have a moral obligation to serve out the full period of their bonds, which goes beyond the legal obligation to pay the liquidated damages if the bond is broken.

scroobal said:

I am actually amazed that they held the inquiry before the Coroner's Inquiry.

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scroobal said:

I am actually amazed that they held the inquiry before the Coroner's Inquiry.

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Hmm, PR spin gone wrong? However I still feel that Mindef fail to answer the question even for the second time. Why can't Dr Ooi break the bond?

it said that the 2 bonds are running concurrently......

i tot the dead doc was pissed by it.....?cos he tot his bond extended cos of the new course?

When senior officer die, SAF view as serious issue but when non-ranking officer die, SAF fuck-care.

SAF style indeed.

Porfirio Rubirosa said:

Why? BOI was to look into Mindef's position i.e. whether it had acted appropriately in dealing with Ooi, limited terms of reference...don't really need to wait for CI to conduct such a BOI I should think.

As an aside, my eyebrows were raised when I read this part of Col Darius' letter:

Officers sponsored by the SAF know that they have a moral obligation to serve out the full period of their bonds, which goes beyond the legal obligation to pay the liquidated damages if the bond is broken.

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The impression from Mindef is that it is not even a preliminary inquiry. It seems to be completed. There is no mention of limited terms of reference. What if the coroner finds something adverse with Mindef in handling of the matter.

It also show how shallow these guys are when the most important item is the death of an individual and the person responsible for ascertaining the cause of death and its circumstances is the Coroner and not Mindef.

I certainly expect Mindef to carry out a preliminary inquiry to address any urgent issues or urgent remediation but to defer to CI before concluding the inquiry.

Porfirio Rubirosa said:

As an aside, my eyebrows were raised when I read this part of Col Darius' letter:

Officers sponsored by the SAF know that they have a moral obligation to serve out the full period of their bonds, which goes beyond the legal obligation to pay the liquidated damages if the bond is broken.

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Agree, totally uncalled for. The guy is dead and we are talking about a dead guy and the circumstances surrounding it. That sentence has no place in the reply. Poor skills and he is a Colonel.

If one choose to commit suicide, it's not another's responsibility! The Government has better things to do! SAF need to concentrate on keeping our spears sharp!

scroobal said:

I am actually amazed that they held the inquiry before the Coroner's Inquiry.

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it was essential for them to cover all backsides.

scroobal said:

Agree, totally uncalled for. The guy is dead and we are talking about a dead guy and the circumstances surrounding it. That sentence has no place in the reply. Poor skills and he is a Colonel.

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maybe a general (NS) got him to insert that line?

Ok, fair points.

scroobal said:

The impression from Mindef is that it is not even a preliminary inquiry. It seems to be completed. There is no mention of limited terms of reference. What if the coroner finds something adverse with Mindef in handling of the matter.

It also show how shallow these guys are when the most important item is the death of an individual and the person responsible for ascertaining the cause of death and its circumstances is the Coroner and not Mindef.

I certainly expect Mindef to carry out a preliminary inquiry to address any urgent issues or urgent remediation but to defer to CI before concluding the inquiry.

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I think it goes even further than bad form...Col Darius seems to be reluctant to come clean on the issue of "early release" for obvious reasons of course.

scroobal said:

Agree, totally uncalled for. The guy is dead and we are talking about a dead guy and the circumstances surrounding it. That sentence has no place in the reply. Poor skills and he is a Colonel.

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NissanViP said:

When senior officer die, SAF view as serious issue but when non-ranking officer die, SAF fuck-care.

SAF style indeed.

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not really. they pay the $5k to the demise's family for officially buying the life snuffed out fr their dead solider son.

for the elite, the compensation is higher and hence the smearing campaign to reduce compensation and the damage control effort for themselves to present them as the goodies instead of the baddies.:p

Porfirio Rubirosa said:

I think it goes even further than bad form...Col Darius seems to be reluctant to come clean on the issue of "early release" for obvious reasons of course.

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he's being pay NOT to come clean. coming clean might result in a demotion.