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Disciplinary master

Story by Sandra Toh
Pictures by Chua Soon Lye and Chew Yaoxian

The SAF strives to balance the requirement of discipline with the need to enforce it in a fair and transparent manner. PIONEER examines the military justice system in the SAF and arrives at a verdict on this claim.

Balancing act

The famous French General Napoleon once declared: "Discipline is the first quality of a soldier, valour is only the second."

Indeed, there is no dispute that an effective armed forces is necessarily a disciplined one. Without discipline, an army will not only fail in its mission, but also have its soldiers exposed to grave dangers.

Recognising that discipline is of paramount importance, the SAF prescribes strict rules of behaviour for soldiers, and quick and severe sanctions for any breach of these regulations. Besides criminal and civil offences, military offences such as disobedience of orders, desertion, insubordination or drug abuse are considered serious transgressions that have to be dealt with quickly and severely.

Mr Jon Ong (left), Head of Military Law, explains: "Those who are not in the military may not be able to comprehend the severity of even simple offences like absence without leave (AWOL). If a person fails to turn up at the restaurant for his waiter job, there are no national security consequences. But in the military context, if the same person fails to turn up for guard duty, this can lead to drastic security consequences, such as the camp or operations area being intruded upon or weaponry being stolen."

"So to ensure that the SAF remains an effective and credible force, action must be taken to show that such negative attitudes towards military service cannot be condoned."

There is, however, a balancing act that the SAF has to perform.

Whilst there is a need in the SAF to instil discipline and honour among its soldiers, it is also necessary to ensure that this is imposed fairly, so as to assure people that military service is not something to be feared.

As pointed out by the Honourable Attorney-General, Mr Chan Sek Keong, when he was the SAF's Judge-Advocate General, "Disciplinary measures meted out justly and consistently lead to clear norms of right and wrong, and advance the cause of discipline. Better discipline among soldiers translates into increased operational effectiveness, and this, in turn, raises the morale of the troops. Public support for National Service is thereby enhanced."

The Practice

When an SAF serviceman is alleged to have committed an offence, his unit commander will conduct investigations and decide on the disciplinary actions to take. However, if the offence falls outside the Schedule in the SAF Act, it will be referred to the Chief Military Prosecutor (CMP) for a decision.

The CMP is responsible for directing prosecutions in the military courts for offences committed by persons subject to military law. An independent office holder, the CMP is not under the command of persons or bodies who are part of the SAF command structure. In other words, he has the final say on matters of prosecution.

Before initiating a prosecution, the CMP has to first establish whether an offence has been truly committed by looking into the report by the SAF Provost Unit's Special Investigation Branch (SIB), an independent body that investigates allegations of the more serious offences.

Indeed, the decision to proceed with a prosecution or not is never made hastily. "Prosecutors are required to pursue explanations of suspects and check the evidence gathered," says Mr Ong. "We must be sure we have solid grounds to prosecute before we proceed."

This also implies that every case, no matter how clear-cut it seems on the surface, is studied thoroughly.

For instance, despite having handled many 'bread-and-butter' cases like AWOL, military prosecutors do not lightly assume that the current one falls into the mould of previous cases, especially if the offender is a young National Serviceman.

"Perhaps this serviceman has a terminally-ill parent or a pregnant girlfriend to look after? These are mitigating factors that we take into consideration," says Mr Ong.

Truth search

The SIB is one agency that plays a significant role in ensuring that justice is upheld in the SAF.

With personnel carefully trained by the Criminal Investigation Department and the Singapore Police Force, the SIB takes on the task of investigating more complicated and serious cases such as fraud, ill-treatment, abuse of authority and property offences.

Having set a target of 80 per cent solving rate, there is no doubt that the people of SIB take pride in what they do.

"Our job is to bring justice and find out the truth at all expense," quips Officer Commanding, MAJ Chew Ban Tiong. "To do our job well, we use technology such as polygraph machines and modern techniques in hand-writing analysis, finger-printing and bodily fluids matching where needed."

On several occasions, the SIB has upheld justice by seeking evidence not to prosecute, but vindicate.

MAJ Chew cites a recent case: "There was a serviceman who complained that his campmates had been bullying him. But his campmates turned the table against him and accused him of telling lies. In the end, his superiors concluded that this serviceman was making false allegations and wanted to charge him."

Thankfully, the truth came to light when the case was handed to the sleuths of the SIB for further investigation.

"Our investigators noted important inconsistencies in the statements. Upon being shown the inconsistencies, the group members admitted that they did, indeed, bully the serviceman," says MAJ Chew. "So the group was punished instead."

Those who have been watching too many cop dramas should perhaps be informed that in reality, interrogations are nothing as dramatic as what one sees on screen.

"Harassment is against the law," says MAJ Chew. "We take statements professionally and ethically, and give the accused sufficient rest in-between the interview."

"The accused is also given a medical examination before and after the interview to confirm that he has not sustained any injury or trauma during the interview," he adds.

Courting justice

After investigations of offences, the evidence gathered will be reviewed and if appropriate, a court martial will be convened for the trial of the accused serviceman.

Each court martial comprises three members. The president is legally qualified, and is usually an NSman who is serving or has served on the judiciary as a magistrate or district judge.

To free military judges from all possible influences or interventions that may affect their ability to act impartially, the autonomy of the court is provided for under Section 107 of the SAF Act.

This section states that members of a court martial are not subject to the authority of their commanders, or to any other authority.

District Judge, MAJ (NS) See Kee Oon, has been serving the court martial since 1996.

Besides lending their legal expertise, MAJ (NS) See agrees that the presence of full-time judicial officers in the court martial adds credibility to the system.

"We don't come from the perspective that we are officers and we are here to punish you," he says. "Instead, we are here to perform our duty to uphold the truth, and since there is a lower likelihood of us having contact with the prosecution or the defendant, our judgement won't be biased."

In court martials, the procedures largely replicate the procedural safeguards of the civil courts, so that no one suffers any punishment unless he is first given a reasonable opportunity to defend himself.

"The accused must be given a fair hearing," says Mr Ong. "This means that he must have a right to be defended by a lawyer of his choice, or any SAF officer, as well as the right to access enough information about the charge against him."

He adds: "For a dissatisfied accused who wishes to seek redress, he has the right to appeal to the Military Court of Appeal (MCA)."

The MCA is presided by a person qualified to be a Supreme Court judge, and comprises four other members - two senior legal officers or lawyers, and two senior SAF officers.

Besides being guided by principles of impartiality and fairness, the court martial also advocates transparency. "SAF trials are held in open court, and any case, unless directed otherwise by the court, can be reported by the media," says Mr Ong.

Rehabilitation rules

Servicemen who have been convicted of an offence may be fined, demoted, or dismissed. Those who have committed more serious offences may face a heavier sentence, for instance, incarceration in the SAF Detention Barracks (SAFDB).

Whilst incarcerating an errant serviceman is a punitive measure, rehabilitation is the ultimate goal, according to LTC Sim Teck Siong (left), Commandant SAFDB.

"Rehabilitation is the keyword in our management," says LTC Sim. "Instead of having regimental training, which only serves to harden the detainee, we conduct physical training according to the IPPT (Individual Physical Proficiency Test) standards, and provide detainees with opportunities to upgrade themselves."

"Ultimately, we want them to learn something, and be useful servicemen and citizens when they leave this place."

Looking at the daily schedules of the detainees, one realises that despite being stripped of their freedom, they are not deprived of learning opportunities.

With the availability of educational programmes, art lessons, religious classes and counselling sessions, detainees are given the chance to obtain higher academic qualifications, as well as gain skills to better cope with problems in life.

Although detainees are taught to submit to authority, this does not mean they can only be seen but not heard.

"We want the detainees to let us know what their problems and needs are," says LTC Sim.

"If their requests are reasonable, we will not hesitate to help them. We have attended to family problems, helped them with administrative matters like registration of birth or marriage, and taken some of them to the hospitals to visit ill relatives."

Explaining the rationale for exercising such flexibility, LTC Sim says: "Most of these detainees are young servicemen - they are not hardcore criminals. By helping them, most of them actually reciprocate and change their behaviour for the better."

Discipline enforced with impartiality, fairness and compassion - the balance has been struck. n

		Disciplinary master Story by Sandra Toh Pictures by Chua Soon Lye and Chew Yaoxian The SAF strives to balance the requirement of discipline with the need to enforce it in a fair and transparent manner. PIONEER examines the military justice system in the SAF and arrives at a verdict on this claim. Balancing act The famous French General Napoleon once declared: "Discipline is the first quality of a soldier, valour is only the second." Indeed, there is no dispute that an effective armed forces is necessarily a disciplined one. Without discipline, an army will not only fail in its mission, but also have its soldiers exposed to grave dangers. Recognising that discipline is of paramount importance, the SAF prescribes strict rules of behaviour for soldiers, and quick and severe sanctions for any breach of these regulations. Besides criminal and civil offences, military offences such as disobedience of orders, desertion, insubordination or drug abuse are considered serious transgressions that have to be dealt with quickly and severely. Mr Jon Ong (left), Head of Military Law, explains: "Those who are not in the military may not be able to comprehend the severity of even simple offences like absence without leave (AWOL). If a person fails to turn up at the restaurant for his waiter job, there are no national security consequences. But in the military context, if the same person fails to turn up for guard duty, this can lead to drastic security consequences, such as the camp or operations area being intruded upon or weaponry being stolen." "So to ensure that the SAF remains an effective and credible force, action must be taken to show that such negative attitudes towards military service cannot be condoned." There is, however, a balancing act that the SAF has to perform. Whilst there is a need in the SAF to instil discipline and honour among its soldiers, it is also necessary to ensure that this is imposed fairly, so as to assure people that military service is not something to be feared. As pointed out by the Honourable Attorney-General, Mr Chan Sek Keong, when he was the SAF's Judge-Advocate General, "Disciplinary measures meted out justly and consistently lead to clear norms of right and wrong, and advance the cause of discipline. Better discipline among soldiers translates into increased operational effectiveness, and this, in turn, raises the morale of the troops. Public support for National Service is thereby enhanced." The Practice When an SAF serviceman is alleged to have committed an offence, his unit commander will conduct investigations and decide on the disciplinary actions to take. However, if the offence falls outside the Schedule in the SAF Act, it will be referred to the Chief Military Prosecutor (CMP) for a decision. The CMP is responsible for directing prosecutions in the military courts for offences committed by persons subject to military law. An independent office holder, the CMP is not under the command of persons or bodies who are part of the SAF command structure. In other words, he has the final say on matters of prosecution. Before initiating a prosecution, the CMP has to first establish whether an offence has been truly committed by looking into the report by the SAF Provost Unit's Special Investigation Branch (SIB), an independent body that investigates allegations of the more serious offences. Indeed, the decision to proceed with a prosecution or not is never made hastily. "Prosecutors are required to pursue explanations of suspects and check the evidence gathered," says Mr Ong. "We must be sure we have solid grounds to prosecute before we proceed." This also implies that every case, no matter how clear-cut it seems on the surface, is studied thoroughly. For instance, despite having handled many 'bread-and-butter' cases like AWOL, military prosecutors do not lightly assume that the current one falls into the mould of previous cases, especially if the offender is a young National Serviceman. "Perhaps this serviceman has a terminally-ill parent or a pregnant girlfriend to look after? These are mitigating factors that we take into consideration," says Mr Ong. Truth search The SIB is one agency that plays a significant role in ensuring that justice is upheld in the SAF. With personnel carefully trained by the Criminal Investigation Department and the Singapore Police Force, the SIB takes on the task of investigating more complicated and serious cases such as fraud, ill-treatment, abuse of authority and property offences. Having set a target of 80 per cent solving rate, there is no doubt that the people of SIB take pride in what they do. "Our job is to bring justice and find out the truth at all expense," quips Officer Commanding, MAJ Chew Ban Tiong. "To do our job well, we use technology such as polygraph machines and modern techniques in hand-writing analysis, finger-printing and bodily fluids matching where needed." On several occasions, the SIB has upheld justice by seeking evidence not to prosecute, but vindicate. MAJ Chew cites a recent case: "There was a serviceman who complained that his campmates had been bullying him. But his campmates turned the table against him and accused him of telling lies. In the end, his superiors concluded that this serviceman was making false allegations and wanted to charge him." Thankfully, the truth came to light when the case was handed to the sleuths of the SIB for further investigation. "Our investigators noted important inconsistencies in the statements. Upon being shown the inconsistencies, the group members admitted that they did, indeed, bully the serviceman," says MAJ Chew. "So the group was punished instead." Those who have been watching too many cop dramas should perhaps be informed that in reality, interrogations are nothing as dramatic as what one sees on screen. "Harassment is against the law," says MAJ Chew. "We take statements professionally and ethically, and give the accused sufficient rest in-between the interview." "The accused is also given a medical examination before and after the interview to confirm that he has not sustained any injury or trauma during the interview," he adds. Courting justice After investigations of offences, the evidence gathered will be reviewed and if appropriate, a court martial will be convened for the trial of the accused serviceman. Each court martial comprises three members. The president is legally qualified, and is usually an NSman who is serving or has served on the judiciary as a magistrate or district judge. To free military judges from all possible influences or interventions that may affect their ability to act impartially, the autonomy of the court is provided for under Section 107 of the SAF Act. This section states that members of a court martial are not subject to the authority of their commanders, or to any other authority. District Judge, MAJ (NS) See Kee Oon, has been serving the court martial since 1996. Besides lending their legal expertise, MAJ (NS) See agrees that the presence of full-time judicial officers in the court martial adds credibility to the system. "We don't come from the perspective that we are officers and we are here to punish you," he says. "Instead, we are here to perform our duty to uphold the truth, and since there is a lower likelihood of us having contact with the prosecution or the defendant, our judgement won't be biased." In court martials, the procedures largely replicate the procedural safeguards of the civil courts, so that no one suffers any punishment unless he is first given a reasonable opportunity to defend himself. "The accused must be given a fair hearing," says Mr Ong. "This means that he must have a right to be defended by a lawyer of his choice, or any SAF officer, as well as the right to access enough information about the charge against him." He adds: "For a dissatisfied accused who wishes to seek redress, he has the right to appeal to the Military Court of Appeal (MCA)." The MCA is presided by a person qualified to be a Supreme Court judge, and comprises four other members - two senior legal officers or lawyers, and two senior SAF officers. Besides being guided by principles of impartiality and fairness, the court martial also advocates transparency. "SAF trials are held in open court, and any case, unless directed otherwise by the court, can be reported by the media," says Mr Ong. Rehabilitation rules Servicemen who have been convicted of an offence may be fined, demoted, or dismissed. Those who have committed more serious offences may face a heavier sentence, for instance, incarceration in the SAF Detention Barracks (SAFDB). Whilst incarcerating an errant serviceman is a punitive measure, rehabilitation is the ultimate goal, according to LTC Sim Teck Siong (left), Commandant SAFDB. "Rehabilitation is the keyword in our management," says LTC Sim. "Instead of having regimental training, which only serves to harden the detainee, we conduct physical training according to the IPPT (Individual Physical Proficiency Test) standards, and provide detainees with opportunities to upgrade themselves." "Ultimately, we want them to learn something, and be useful servicemen and citizens when they leave this place." Looking at the daily schedules of the detainees, one realises that despite being stripped of their freedom, they are not deprived of learning opportunities. With the availability of educational programmes, art lessons, religious classes and counselling sessions, detainees are given the chance to obtain higher academic qualifications, as well as gain skills to better cope with problems in life. Although detainees are taught to submit to authority, this does not mean they can only be seen but not heard. "We want the detainees to let us know what their problems and needs are," says LTC Sim. "If their requests are reasonable, we will not hesitate to help them. We have attended to family problems, helped them with administrative matters like registration of birth or marriage, and taken some of them to the hospitals to visit ill relatives." Explaining the rationale for exercising such flexibility, LTC Sim says: "Most of these detainees are young servicemen - they are not hardcore criminals. By helping them, most of them actually reciprocate and change their behaviour for the better." Discipline enforced with impartiality, fairness and compassion - the balance has been struck. n