A photograph of what seems to be an operationally-ready national
serviceman pointing a SAR 21 rifle to his head is drawing huge flak
online.
The picture, which was first posted on citizen-journalism
website Stomp, has garnered over 27,000 views as of
Thursday since it was posted on Tuesday.
Engineer Jason Lee, 29, told Yahoo!
Singapore, "This is a very stupid thing to do. Why
point a dangerous weapon at your own head? You never know when
things might go wrong. And a second question is: why was a camera
phone allowed in camp?"
Most netizens who have seen the photo also condemned the
soldier's act.
Getrealz, a user on Stomp, said, "The image of
SAF is finished yet again... so embarrassing especially when our
neighbouring countries see this."
mlyleo_69 added, "This is an unbecoming behaviour of an
army personnel irregardless of what position he is. This is
unacceptable and amounts to disrespect of discipline."
Sin Boon Ann, a member of the Government
Parliamentary Committee for Defence and Foreign Affairs, took the
matter seriously.
"If it's meant to be a tongue-in-cheek thing, it's not funny,"
he told The New Paper.
"When you are a soldier in uniform and bearing arms you should
behave in a certain demeanour," he said. "The rifle is meant for
you to save lives, protect your fellow soldiers."
It is unclear whether the soldier in the picture is currently
serving his national service, but the old-style camouflage pants
suggests that he may be a reservist personnel.
"First it was the maid carrying the
soldier's bag pack, and now this. The public must be wondering what
is wrong with our soldiers these days," said 32 year-old
civil servant Daryl Lim.
Recently, a photograph of a domestic
worker carrying the fieldpack of a full-time national
serviceman surfaced, causing many Singaporeans to react
angrily.
The soldier, who was undergoing the Physical Training
Preparatory phase prior to starting his Basic Military Training,
has since stepped forward and admitted to his superiors that he was
the one in the picture.
A spokesman from the Ministry of Defence
(MINDEF) said, "He has been counselled and continues his training.
The SAF has reminded all servicemen to be mindful of their conduct
in public."
MINDEF has made it clear that it does not condone acts wherein
soldiers behave inappropriately online or describe military
activities on blogs or social networking sites.
Camera phones were banned in army camps in 2007 after photos of
training activities appeared online.
A former army officer, who only wanted to be known as Rahman,
told TNP, Today's generation of 'fast-food' soldiers is
different from soldiers in the 80s and 90s.
"Now, it seems our soldiers, even if they know that some things
are wrong, would do it any way to show that they dare. They simply
do not respect the ranks and what the uniform stands for in the
army."
-- Yahoo!
