June 16, 2007
NSF found dead in camp: It's suicide, rules
coroner
By Elena Chong
FULL-TIME national serviceman Ambrose Yeo Chang
Wen - found dead at the foot of a building at Hendon Camp on Sept
18 last year - took his own life, State Coroner Ronald Gwee said
yesterday.
He pointed to two SMSes Private Yeo sent, shortly before his death,
to his former girlfriend in which he said he would be gone for
good.
The coroner added that two superficial slashes were spotted on Pte
Yeo's wrists, indicating he had tried to cut himself.
He found also Pte Yeo had not suffered any abuse from his officers,
who had ordered that he be kept under guard after he confessed to
stealing a cellphone from a fellow soldier. 'The officers do not
appear to have over-stepped their boundaries and do not appear to
have acted beyond their powers and scope of authority in the
circumstances,' Coroner Gwee said.
Pte Yeo, 20, a driver with Pasir Ris Camp, was attached to Hendon
Camp for two weeks when he died.
On Sept 17, he admitted to officers during questioning that he had
stolen medic Benjamin Tan's phone in August, but denied involvement
in the case at hand where fellow driver Chris Tan's phone was
reported missing.
Pte Yeo, who had been reprimanded earlier for stealing a phone, was
placed in a guardroom and scheduled to be handed over to Pasir Ris
Camp at 8am the next day.
It was decided that he should be segregated from the rest to
prevent any disputes.
Pte Yeo then spoke to his mother over the phone and told her in
Mandarin to take care. He also called two male friends, asking them
to look after his ex-girlfriend, Ms Stephanie Fong, 18, and their
five-month-old baby.
Pte Yeo had the baby with Ms Fong but they broke up before they
could get married.
In his first SMS to her on the night of his death, he apologised
for all the wrong he had done and told her he would be 'gone for
Gd'.
He told her to take good care of herself and their child, saying
she was his only love.
About 30 minutes later, he SMSed her again and sought her
forgiveness. He said that that was his last message.
At about 1.40am on Sept 18, sentry duty officer Low Yih Fei, 19,
went for a toilet break and did not ask another guard to watch Pte
Yeo.
At around 2.10am, Pte Yeo was found lying beside a four-storey
building. He was pronounced dead at 3.28am.
Investigating officer Johnny Tan Beng Heng of Bedok Police Division
said that, according to Pte Yeo's ex-girlfriend, he was under a lot
of stress - because of finances, his family, the army, herself and
the baby. Also, he owed cellphone bills of $522.
Pte Yeo's father, logistics supervisor Yeo Suan Poh, 49, and two of
his five daughters, aged 11 and 24, attended the inquiry. Pte Yeo
was his only son.
Colonel Benedict Lim, director of public affairs at the Defence
Ministry, said in a press statement last night: 'We will take the
coroner's findings and take appropriate action.'
