Commando officer says he tried to
stop dunking of trainee By Dominique Loh, Channel
NewsAsia
SINGAPORE : A commando officer tried to stop the dunking of 2nd
Sergeant Hu En Huai during the ill-fated Combat Survival Training
Course.
Lieutenant Kong Wai Kheong is the first witness in the trial of
four commandos blamed for Sergeant Hu's death.
He testified that he tried to intervene during the ill-treatment of
the trainees.
Lieutenant Kong could have saved 2nd Sergeant Hu, but he intervened
a little too late.
The commando lieutenant did not see the entire dunking, and only
intervened after Sergeant Hu had been dunked a few times.
Lt Kong said: "The moment Lieutenant Divanandhari pulled the
deceased's head out of the water, I immediately told Diva to stop
dunking him into the water.
"I noticed that the deceased was in a bad shape. He reacted
differently when he was pulled out of the water. He was extremely
weak. He tried to breathe hard and his lips had turned pale. He did
not struggle as a normal person."
Lieutenant Kong, a Platoon Commander at Hendon Camp, had sent seven
men from his Strike Reconnaissance Team to attend the combat
survival training course.
He was at Pulau Tekong to observe their progress.
Although Lt Kong is not an official instructor for the CST course,
he was there because his own men were attending the course.
In his own words, he was there to assist the other instructors from
station to station.
During cross examination, Lt Kong admitted he had helped hold down
the legs of some trainees as they were dunked.
When asked why, he said it was to prevent the trainees from getting
injured as they thrashed around. - CNA
