More Singaporeans are exercising their legal rights by suing the
authorities. Such activities is set to rise as Singaporeans mature
and gain enough knowledge about their law. Suing Mindef "and win"
is never heard, till recently.
Case 1 : He went to court to quit his job
NORMALLY, a letter is all that is needed. A former :major
with the Singapore Armed Forces, however, went all the way to the
High Court just to quit his job.
Mr Mohamad Zaidi Hasbollah had resigned his commission on Jan 14
last year. But due to “administrative lapses”, the 38-year-old was
only released six months later — after he filed a claim in the High
Court on June 23,seeking the acknowledgment of his
resignation.
He also sought payment of bonuses, including retirement benefits,
that had been withheld pending an investigation.
The result was that the Attorney-General — who represents the
Government and its agencies in any legal case — processed his
resignation on July 14, and Mr Mohamad Zaidi was paid the monies
owed three months later, in October.
Yesterday, he agreed to discontinue the legal action, with legal
costs awarded to him.
In his affidavit, the former major — who served in the SAF for 19
years — said he was given no reason why the bonuses were not
paid.
These included his mid-year, variable market and year-end bonuses
for 2007, and his performance, market adjustment component,
variable market and growth bonuses for 2008.
The total sum was not specified, nor was the nature of the pending
investigation.
Mr Mohammad Zaidi claimed that not only did his family suffer
financially as a result, he also went into a “major depression”
over “the manner in which” he had been treated.
“There has been ample time of about five months notice period given
to process my application for early release,” he said in his
affidavit.
On why he had sought to resign,Mr Mohammad Zaidi cited
stress-related ailments and the need for a “complete change of work
environment” to recover.
The former army officer was head of logistics at the Camp
Commandant’s Office at Pasir Laba Camp, and had served on the peace
monitoring mission in Aceh in 2006.
Now working in a logistics company, Mr Mohammad Zaidi is keen to
close this chapter of his life. With the matter resolved, he
instructed lawyer Suppiah Thangaveloo, of law firm Thanga & Co,
to wind down proceedings.
“This is perhaps the first case of its kind,” said Mr
Suppiah.
“I’m not sure if this will set a precedent, but it is unusual to
see a man resorting to legal action just to resign from his job.” -
Zul Othman
Case 2: Parents sue Mindef
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.
He was subsequently taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital with
severe head injuries, although his parents were also told when they
arrived at the hospital that he had a severe viral
infection.
But the issue which the courts are expected to address when
the hearing starts on Monday before Justice Tay Yong Kwang is
whether the injury was caused in the course of his service. Mr Tan
would not be eligible for compensation if the injuries were not
service-related. - ST