Here is the Straitstimes Version.
July 13, 2007
PM Lee's son in NS reprimanded by SAF
By Sandra Davie
WRONG PROCEDURE: 2nd Lt Li Hongyi contravened the General Orders of
the Ministry of Defence.
PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong's son Li Hongyi, who is serving his
national service, has been reprimanded by the Singapore Armed
Forces (SAF) for not following proper procedures in e-mailing a
letter of complaint to many other servicemen.
Second Lieutenant Li Hongyi had alleged that another officer from
his unit had been absent without leave or AWOL on two
occasions.
In the June 28 e-mail, which was sent to the Defence Minister and
senior SAF officers, among others, 2nd Lt Li also stated that he
had reported the matter to the officer's superiors, but no
disciplinary action had been taken.
In a statement yesterday, Colonel Benedict Lim, director of public
affairs at the Ministry of Defence (Mindef), said:
'2nd Lt Li was found to have contravened the General Orders of
Mindef by broadcasting his letter of complaint to many other
servicemen - almost all of whom were neither directly under his
command, nor in an official capacity where they could deal with the
matters contained in his letter of complaint.'
Col Lim added: 'He has been formally charged and administered a
reprimand after a summary trial.'
The Straits Times understands that a summary trial deals with less
serious military offences and is normally presided over by a senior
disciplinary officer who may serve with the soldier's own unit or
is appointed to oversee the trial from another unit.
Penalties include being warned by the senior disciplinary officer,
forfeiture of days off or shouldering extra duties.
In the statement, Mindef added that following 2nd Lt Li's
complaint, an investigation was conducted and the officers
concerned have been disciplined.
The officer who was found to have been AWOL will be
court-martialled and two supervising officers have been issued
letters of warning for poor judgment in administering inappropriate
disciplinary action.
A court martial, which deals with more serious offences, can result
in a range of penalties for misconduct. These include discharge
from service, detention in the SAF detention barracks, a reduction
in rank, forfeiture of seniority, fines and reprimand.
Mindef issued the statement yesterday in response to media queries
about the Internet chatter on 2nd Lt Li's e-mail.
Several sites were abuzz with details of the e-mail and comments on
how the authorities would respond.
Col Lim stressed that the SAF takes a serious view of misconduct by
any serviceman.
'To maintain organisational discipline, all SAF servicemen with
complaints or grievances should take them up through proper
channels for redress, to ensure due process and to protect
confidential information.
'All complaints which are not anonymous are investigated and dealt
with properly.'
2nd Lt Li, who is the third of PM Lee's four children, has received
a Public Service Commission scholarship to study economics at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States.
