SCDF officer to plead guilty over firefighter’s death in Henderson blaze
A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officer intends to plead guilty to leaving a full-time national serviceman (NSF) to fight an HDB flat fire alone.
The latter suffocated and died.
The officer, Muhammad Kamil Mohamed Yasin, 39, faces one charge of causing grievous hurt by a rash act which endangers life or the personal safety of others.
The NSF, Sergeant 1 Edward H. Go, 19, died while fighting the blaze at Block 91 Henderson Road on Dec 8, 2022.
Kamil was charged in October 2023. According to court records, he is set to plead guilty on Jan 15, 2025.
Kamil is accused of exiting the fourth-floor unit during the fire, leaving Sgt 1 Go alone in the burning unit, and failing to inform anyone about it.
Sgt 1 Go was the first firefighter to die during an SCDF firefighting operation.
Kamil is represented by veteran criminal lawyer Mr Ramesh Tiwary. The case will be heard by District Judge Shawn Ho.
The police said in October 2023 that Kamil went against standard procedures by allegedly leaving Sgt 1 Go alone in the unit to fight the blaze without informing anyone.
The autopsy certified that Sgt 1 Go died of suffocation due to a depleted air cylinder. The police said investigations did not find any evidence to suggest his death was due to equipment failure.
The SCDF said Sgt 1 Go’s crew immediately took him out of the burning flat and administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him.
Paramedics used an automated external defibrillator on him and took him to Singapore General Hospital. He was pronounced dead there.
The SCDF had said then that Sgt 1 Go was certified medically fit before his enlistment and categorised under the physical employment standard (PES) as PES A.
Servicemen in this category are considered suitable for front-line operational vocations such as firefighting.
In Parliament in January 2023, Minister of State for Home Affairs Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim said Sgt 1 Go attained a gold standard in his individual physical proficiency test and an A grade in his breathing apparatus proficiency test.
He had also fared well in other mandatory course requirements and attended to nearly 60 fire and rescue calls after he was posted to Central Fire Station in May 2022.
If convicted, Kamil can be jailed for up to four years, fined up to $10,000, or both.
The SCDF had earlier said a second officer had been referred by the police for investigations related to the fire.
This officer allegedly failed to adequately ensure the overall safety of the firefighting operation when he arrived and took over command and control of the incident.
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