If these breakdowns happened under Saw Phaik Hwa's watch, an angry mob would have stormed into her office and impaled her CB with a broomstick.
The fact that Desmond Cake-Meat-Veggie gets off the hook despite so many cockups, shows you how much the PAP Leegime pampers one of their own SAF scholars.
You could say that a lot of LEEway was given to Desmond.