Well not exactly with reckless driving, but in this case, but
parents should be held liable at least for negligence if they did
not educate their teenage kids properly on safe driving.
Theres now an increasing movement in the West for parents to be
punished should their kids commit crimes, skip school etc.
Now back to this case, IMO the 2 officers on duty should be
charged, no doubt about it. I think there is no doubt they violated
international maritime laws, and I don't believe they can claim
ignorance about the laws of the sea.
But then, maybe the RSN has to review its training procedures of
its officers and helmsmen and be tougher in enforcing compliance
with these laws among its junior officers, especially with regards
to safe seamanship in the narrow and congested waters around
Singapore. If this has been found grossly wanting among its senior
officers, I've no doubt that they should be disciplined as well,
though charging the might be a bit over the top.
I've had several people (who used to go sea fishing in the waters
around Pedra Branca) tell me that the worst offenders of these
written and unwritten maritime laws in the area are the RSN and PCG
boats. So I guess the Courageous accident and its aftermath wasn't
that big a surprise to me after the stories I've heard.
