News: Sued Mindef in Court & WON !
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By K C Vijayan
THE parents of a former full-time national serviceman, who has remained in a coma for over three years after an incident in camp, is taking the Ministry of Defence to court over compensation issues.
They claim that then-corporal Jeremy Tan, now aged 26, is entitled to coverage for medical costs and a permanent disability package since the injuries occurred while he was in camp and in service.
Mr Tan, then a storeman at the Seletar East Camp, was found unconscious on a grass patch outside the block where his third-level bunk was located at about 6pm on Aug 3, 2005.http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20090112-113908.html
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saf trying to shirk responsibility?
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Originally posted by stellazio:
saf trying to shirk responsibility?
its not the first time
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We don't know the full story. If the serviceman had attempted suicide, it's definitely not a service injury. In fact, he should be charged.
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Originally posted by oxford mushroom:
We don't know the full story. If the serviceman had attempted suicide, it's definitely not a service injury. In fact, he should be charged.
Thats not an excuse for Mindef to shirk responsibility/accountability either. I would like to remind you that One of the SAF core values is "Care for Soldier" =D -
In uniquely sillypore, if peasant tries to fight govt in court there can only be one outcome...there's no prize for guessing..
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Originally posted by oxford mushroom:
We don't know the full story. If the serviceman had attempted suicide, it's definitely not a service injury. In fact, he should be charged.
Yes, we duno the full story ... but why is MINDEF keeping mum about it? Why? The storeman took a Gundam out to luanch???
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NSman found unconscious had apologised repeatedly, court told
By Leong Wee Keat, TODAY | Posted: 13 January 2009 2327 hrs
SINGAPORE: He had seemed "confused" when he returned to his bunk and, according to a platoon mate, Mr Jeremy Tan Chia Whee told them: "I do not know who I am."
Twenty minutes after this, at about 6pm, Mr Tan - who was then a full-time national serviceman - was found unconscious on a grass patch outside the block of his third-level bunk at Seletar Camp.
More than three years later, Mr Tan is still on the mend.
Now 26, he is warded at the Tan Tock Seng Rehabilitation Centre, unable to move or speak, fully dependent on doctors and nurses for his daily needs.
His parents are now suing the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) over compensation issues.
Mindef has classified Mr Tan's injuries as non-service related injuries, which means he is only compensated on 80 per cent of his ward and meal charges.
But Mr Tan's parents claim their son should be entitled to full compensation as he was on duty, and was wearing his army t-shirt, trousers and boots when found.
There were apparently no witnesses to what had happened; medical reports said he suffered a head injury consistent with a fall from height.
Mr Tan Kian Lee testified yesterday that his son was the duty storeman on Aug 3, 2005, and had been waiting for his replacement, holding on to the store keys when he was found.
But Staff Sergeant Wan Chuan Seah - Mr Jeremy Tan's superior - said the general practice was that the duty storeman may return to rest at around 5pm, upon completing his tasks for the day.
This was despite the stipulated duty hours for the duty storeman being from 8am to 6pm.
Since Mindef's payments ceased in February 2007, his parents have chalked up outstanding hospital bills totalling $133,000 for his upkeep.
Yesterday, mother Hor Hong Kiow told the court that manpower officer Linda Quek had told her she would appeal to Mindef to cover Mr Tan's medical fees, as his injuries had occurred in the course of duty.
Madam Hor also claimed Major Quek had told her the Singapore Armed Forces would appeal on the family's behalf.
Mr Jeremy Tan's sister, Jasmine, provided the court with a transcript of SMSes that he had sent to two servicemen, copied off his mobile phone.
In one SMS, Mr Tan reportedly asked a serviceman what time he was coming back to the boat-shed. He also messaged another man, Sergeant Chew Zi Guo, with his apologies.
State Counsel Shawn Ho said Sgt Chew, who also spoke to Mr Tan over the phone, would testify that he did not understand why Mr Tan said he blamed himself for everything, apologised repeatedly and cried.
The hearing continues. -
what it means that the nsman apologise.
he already in coma.how to apologise.
either my english no good or the title of the newspaper unclear.
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also not first time already
when people die in NS, they just cover it up
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he nv die.that the problem.
nv die got more trouble.
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What was his last FFI result? was it a precondition ?
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Originally posted by Arapahoe:
What was his last FFI result? was it a precondition ?
Which FFI? ORD? Must be fit lah......
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scrap NSFs
hire gurkhas
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Parents won the case!
Pending MINDEF apppeal though.MINDEF line of argument is totally not valid. He was the duty storeman for the day, But MINDEF claimed he wasnt at his place of duty....what the fark! they want soldiers to stay in the store for 24 hours? So lets say i was on Guard duty and along the way to the cookhouse for lunch i got hit by a fallen tree, So i cannot claim compensation cos i wasnt at the place of duty (Guardroom)? Stupid MINDEF mentality...want us SIngaporeans to fight for our country but when we get hurt, they dont give a damn about us.....
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mindef can easily afford the 20%.
just pay lah. the parents already have to suffer the pain.
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Originally posted by Man!x:
Pending MINDEF apppeal though.MINDEF line of argument is totally not valid. He was the duty storeman for the day, But MINDEF claimed he wasnt at his place of duty....
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Parents win case.
Floodgates to claim from SAF opens!!! -
He was still considered an NSF at tat time wat
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finally , this first strike will either make mindef take better care of soldiers or get sued their asses off .
or both .
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See mindef still dare to play tricks or not
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Family wins suit
THE parents of a former full-time national serviceman, comatose for more than three years after an incident in camp, have won their lawsuit against the Defence Ministry.The High Court decision paves the way for the family of Jeremy Tan, now 26, to seek disability compensation and medical benefits from Mindef.
On Aug 3, 2005, Mr Tan, then a corporal rostered as duty storeman at Seletar East Camp, was found unconscious at the foot of a building where his bunk was located on the third-level.
Ex-NSF's parents insist he was on dutyTHE parents of a former full-time national serviceman (NSF) who has been comatose for more than three years after an incident in camp insisted in court yesterday that he was injured while on duty.
Mr Tan Kian Lee, 50, and Madam Hor Hong Kiow, 47, have taken the Ministry of Defence to court seeking disability compensation and medical benefits for their son Jeremy, who is now 26.
The crux of the case, which opened in the High Court yesterday, was whether Mr Jeremy Tan was injured while he was on duty. Mindef, which has classified his case as a non-service-related injury, stopped subsidising his treatment at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) from March 2007.
Mr Jeremy Tan, then a corporal, was the scheduled duty storeman at Seletar East Camp on Aug 3, 2005. At about 6pm, he was found unconscious on a grass patch at the foot of the block where his bunk was located on the third level. He was later taken to TTSH with severe head injuries.
Although the injuries are consistent with a fall from a height, there were no eyewitnesses and findings by Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) investigators remain inconclusive as to what led to his injuries. The evidence did not point to suicide.
Mr Jeremy Tan's father contended yesterday that his son was on duty as he was still wearing his army T-shirt, trousers and boots when he was found. Mr Tan insisted that his son, who was holding the store keys, was still on duty and was waiting to hand them over to his replacement.
But government lawyers asserted that Mr Jeremy Tan was not at his place of duty at the time. And minutes before he was found unconscious, he had been seen resting in his bunk, pointed out State Counsel Shawn Ho.
Madam Hor told the court that Major Linda Quek from Mindef's Manpower Branch, the liaison officer assigned to the family, had told them the SAF would take care of the hospitalisation costs. 'She told us she would help us appeal to Mindef to cover the medical fees for my son as his injuries arose in the course of his duties.'
Madam Hor said she understood that to mean that Mindef would pay the medical costs until her son recovered.
Major Quek, one of the four witnesses for Mindef who took the stand yesterday, denied making such a promise. Questioned by the couple's lawyer Lau Teik Soon on why she told them she would do her best to help them, she said it was her job to submit all information to the relevant agencies to get the subsidies they are entitled to.The trial continues before Justice Tay Yong Kwang.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on Jan 14, 2009.
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I am glad that this unprecedented example has taken place.
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the parents lost so much more then just money..also what about the money he will be earning from a job had he not been in a coma..
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well, nothing new here cuz its saf were talking about. Covering up is the norm. Well, image is very important. Maybe the word here is facade. Since mindef lost this case, maybe there really is justice after all.