Channel NewsAsia - Friday,
July 13
MINDEF takes PM
Lee's son to task for contravening orders
SINGAPORE: The Defence Ministry has formally charged and
reprimanded a full-time National Service officer after he
contravened orders by broadcasting a letter of complaint to other
servicemen.
Second Lieutenant Li Hongyi, who is a son of Prime Minister Lee
Hsien Loong, had apparently sent an email to the Defence Minister
to lodge a complaint against another serviceman.
2LT Li is believed to have copied the email to other servicemen who
are not directly under his command and are not in an official
capacity to deal with the matter.
His action has been a subject of several on-line discussions
here.
MINDEF says there are proper channels within the SAF to address
grievances or concerns.
And in this incident, 2LT Li is said to have written a complaint
against another officer whom he alleged had been absent without
leave on two occasions.
According to a statement by MINDEF, 2LT Li had also said in his
letter that he had reported the matter to the officer's supervisors
but disciplinary action had not been carried out.
MINDEF adds that arising from 2LT Li's complaint, an investigation
was conducted and appropriate disciplinary action has been meted
out to the officers concerned.
The officer who was found to have been absent without leave will be
court-martialled.
Two supervising officers have been issued warning letters for poor
judgement in administering inappropriate disciplinary action.
MINDEF says to maintain organisational discipline, all SAF
servicemen with complaints or grievances should take them up
through proper channels for redress.
This is to ensure due process and to protect confidential
information.
All complaints which are not anonymous are investigated and dealt
with properly. - CNA/ir