ASSOCIATED PRESS
SINGAPORE, June 20 Two Singapore officers were charged Friday
with causing a collision between a navy ship and a Dutch cargo ship
that killed four sailors, a defense ministry spokesman said.
Lt. Ng Keng Yong, 27, and Lt. Chua Chue Teng, 23, were released on
$5,870 bail, the defense ministry spokesman said. The official, who
declined to be identified, said he could not say what the exact
charges against the men were. The two are scheduled to appear in a
court July 8.
Ng was watch officer when the RSS Courageous, a 500-ton submarine
hunter, collided with the ANL Indonesia off Malaysia's southern
coast on Jan. 1, killing four servicewomen. Eight other officers
were injured.
Former Chief of Navy, Rear Adm. Lui Tuck Yew, called it the worst
naval accident in Singapore's history.
In a report in April, Singapore's Maritime and Ports Authority
accused Ng of ''errors of judgment,'' including failing to tell
Chua, who was under his command, how to steer the navy vessel out
of the cargo ship's path.
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