SCDF NSF death: Corporal Kok Yuen Chin’s last conversation with his father

16 May 2018 09:00PM
Channel NewsAsia

A photo of Corporal Kok Yuen Chin displayed at his wake in Melaka. (Photo: Aqil Haziq Mahmud)

KRUBONG, Melaka: The father of the late Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) full-time national serviceman Kok Yuen Chin said the last contact he had with his son was a discussion about dinner, more than a month before he died on Sunday (May 13).

Mr Kok Meng Hua, 56, was speaking to Channel NewsAsia on Wednesday, at his son’s wake in the quiet Melaka suburb of Krubong. Mr Kok works six days a week doing construction in Singapore, with Sunday being his only day off.

“What are you doing today? Are you working?” Mr Kok recalled asking his son after knocking off early that day. As a firefighter at Tuas View Fire Station, Yuen Chin worked one 24-hour shift followed by two days off. That day was his day off, he replied.

“Want to have dinner together?” Mr Kok continued, suggesting their usual hawker centre in Bukit Panjang, where Mr Kok lives.

Yuen Chin hesitated. He had a buffet date with his girlfriend. By then he had moved out of his dad’s place to live independently with her in a rented room in Jurong. It was nearer to his Tuas workplace.

Yuen Chin invited his dad along for the buffet, but Mr Kok declined. He’d had a rough day at work, so he wanted a proper meal with rice. Another day then, Mr Kok remembered he said.

Yuen Chin was just a month away from his Operationally Ready Date (ORD) and Mr Kok thought there would be more opportunities to have a dinner with him and discuss the next chapter of his son’s life.

But the next chapter never came. And so that was the last time Mr Kok heard from his son.

On Sunday night, Yuen Chin was found unconscious at the bottom of a 12m pump well at his fire station. Eleven metres of the well had been filled with water. Yuen Chin was rushed to a hospital, but was pronounced dead.

When Mr Kok visited the well to pray and leave offerings, he was shocked by its narrow diameter and sheer depth. "How could he have a chance to survive?" Mr Kok said.

Mr Kok’s younger sister Helen, 55, said the family wants answers. Did anyone jump in the moment they realised Yuen Chin was not coming up?

While investigations into how exactly Yuen Chin ended up in the well are still ongoing, SCDF has said that it was part of activities to celebrate his impending ORD.

For closure, Ms Kok said the family wants to watch CCTV footage of the incident, but she added that it’s unclear if they will be able to. “I just want to know how they tried to save my son,” Mr Kok said.

INDEPENDENT, HELPFUL BOY

Whenever Yuen Chin returned home to Melaka, which was about twice a month, he never hesitated to help around the house. “After dinner he automatically washes the plates, wipes the table and sweeps the floor," Ms Kok said.

Yuen Chin would take S$600 out of his salary to give to his mother, who lives in Melaka. Then he would take his siblings out to the mall, treating them to movies and ice cream.

The last time he went home was on Malaysia’s polling day on May 9. He didn’t vote, but wanted to accompany his girlfriend who was going to. Mr Kok didn't go back because he couldn't take time off work. It was then that Yuen Chin told family members he wanted to work as an auxiliary police officer.

Mr Kok had asked Yuen Chin if he wanted to sign on as a firefighter. He entertained the idea, but said he didn’t have the necessary academic qualifications. When Mr Kok asked Yuen Chin to approach his superiors for a recommendation, he said he didn’t want to trouble them.

This self-reliant attitude is also what made him so endearing, Ms Kok said. “When he had difficulty with his studies, he never told his parents,” she added.

"He loved his mother very much," Mr Kok said.

THE OTHER CALL

It was about 9.50pm on Sunday when Mr Kok, in an express bus on his way back to Singapore, was first told of the incident.

Every week on Saturday night after work, Mr Kok goes back to Melaka to see his wife. He rides his motorcycle across the border, parks it at Larkin in Johor and takes a bus home. On Sunday night, he does the same, but in the other direction.

“Can you come to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital now?” he was told. “What happened?” he probed. The other person on the line would only say that his son had fainted in a pool.

His heart raced. Mr Kok knew his son hated the water and couldn't swim. And it would still be hours before he reached Johor, let alone Singapore. Mr Kok called his sister and asked her to go to the hospital. “I asked her to call me when my son regained consciousness,” he said.

He only reached Johor at midnight. There was still no call. He rode his motorcycle with one fist clenched around his phone. “If it rang, I would quickly pull over and answer,” he said. The call never came. “That was when I knew my son was no more.”

Mr Kok at his son's wake. (Photo: Aqil Haziq Mahmud)

Mr Kok parked his bike at home and took a taxi to the hospital because he didn’t know where to park. He called his sister. “How is my son now?” he pressed. Ms Kok wouldn’t answer. “Twice I asked and her voice changed,” he said. “I only knew it wasn’t good.”

When the taxi pulled in, Mr Kok said at least three SCDF officers were waiting. They led him into a room, where a doctor told him “we did our best but could not save your son".

Yuen Chin was in a neck brace and had some cuts on his face, Mr Kok said. “Your papa is here now,” he could only say.

HIS JOURNEY

Like a lot of kids, Yuen Chin grew up playing football with his neighbours on a field just in front of his house. He would also be glued to his phone playing games, Mr Kok said with a smile.

After finishing the equivalent of his polytechnic diploma in Malaysia, Yuen Chin decided to pursue citizenship so he could work in Singapore. Mr Kok had offered to pay for him to further his studies, but he refused.

When he got enlisted into the SCDF, Mr Kok joked that it would be easier than serving in the army. “Even if it’s tough, I’ll still do it,” Yuen Chin said. “I just want to finish the two years.”

Yuen Chin graduated from the Civil Defence Academy as a firefighter and lived with his dad for about a year. During the time they bunked together, they talked about work.

Because the fire station was so remote, Yuen Chin would round up orders from his colleagues and buy back food for them, a job that he said newbies had to do. And because the fire station was so remote, Yuen Chin didn’t have that many cases to attend.

“Where did you go today? Wash oil off the roads?” Mr Kok would joke. Yuen Chin would insist that he still fought fires, at factories in places like Yew Tee.

Mr Kok felt good about Yuen Chin eking out a future in Singapore. “I have always thought of Singapore as a safe place,” he said. “It’s not like overseas, where there might be a lot of trouble.”

Flowers the SCDF left at the wake. (Photo: Aqil Haziq Mahmud)

When Yuen Chin moved out to live with his girlfriend, Mr Kok gave him more freedom. “I didn’t want to call every day; he was earning an income,” he said. “He had already grown up.”

He said that Yuen Chin and his girlfriend would often come over for dinner.

“I was just happy that he had finished his two years,” he added. “I also thought of asking about his plans after ORD: Are you finding work? Are you coming back to the kampung for a week?

“I just didn’t have the chance to ask.”

SCDF NSF who died had dreams of settling down in Singapore

May 16, 2018 06:00 am
The New Paper

Corporal Kok Yuen Chin and his girlfriend Clare Heng were going to celebrate their three-year anniversary next month.

PHOTO: FACEBOOK/ KOK YUEN CHIN

He went to school in Melaka but had dreams of getting a job and buying a flat here with his girlfriend after national service.

But the dream to settle down in Singapore died when Corporal Kok Yuen Chin, 22, drowned on Sunday.

Cpl Kok, whom family members said had been a Singapore permanent resident from young, was found unconscious at the bottom of a 12m-deep pump well at Tuas View Fire Station.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said the full-time national serviceman (NSF) had been celebrating his impending Operationally Ready Date.

At his wake in the Krubong area of Melaka yesterday, where SCDF Commissioner Eric Yap and other officers paid their respects, family members told The New Paper Cpl Kok had been excited at starting the next chapter of his life.

His father Kok Meng Hwa, 56, has been a construction worker in Singapore for more than 20 years. He met his wife, who is from Ipoh, in Singapore.

He applied for permanent residence status for his family shortly after Cpl Kok was born in Malaysia in 1996.

"I thought being a PR would allow my children to have more options," said the older Mr Kok.

The PR status also meant that when his son turned 18, he received a letter asking him to serve NS. He deferred at first to complete Malaysia's equivalent of the A levels at the age of 19.

He worried about the physical demands of NS, but he warmed to the idea as it meant he could live and work in Singapore.

He spent the first few months in SCDF sharing a rented apartment with his father in Bukit Panjang.
Over the past year, he moved to a rented apartment in Boon Lay with his girlfriend, Miss Clare Heng, 22, a Malaysian who works here in a fashion accessories shop. The pair split a monthly rent of about $600.

Miss Heng told TNP yesterday that she been planning a surprise next month to celebrate the three years she and Cpl Kok had been together.

She was devastated when she found out on Sunday he had died.

She said Cpl Kok had confided in her of his fear of going into the pump well. "I didn't expect his fear to come true and cost him his life," she said.

Miss Heng said she had previously tried to teach Cpl Kok to swim, but he refused.

"I tried to teach him swimming but he refused to learn because he was that afraid of water," she added.

She met Cpl Kok in 2015 in high school in Melaka.

Miss Heng, who was in the classroom next to his, said she frequently dropped by his class to meet her friends and tried to make excuses to approach him.

The pair grew closer after they began talking on WeChat and connected.

Recalling happier times with him, she said: "He is introverted and would never have had the courage to woo me so I made the first move."

Describing him as "kind, loyal and filial", she said Cpl Kok loved his parents very much.

Mr Kok said his son always wanted to be independent.

"He knew he wanted to start a life (in Singapore), so even though he was not earning a lot, he wanted to try his best to make it work," he said.

Cpl Kok had planned to work as a security officer after NS.

"But he never even got the chance to try," said Mr Kok, who struggled to compose himself.

Family members said Cpl Kok will be cremated tomorrow.

家人发现民防服役员头伤牙断 初步调查：伤势在井里和拯救时造成

2018年5月16日 3:30 AM
联合早报

针对儿子的丧命，郭明桦哀痛表示，若儿子是在工作中殉职他能接受，但这是人为因素所致，他无法接受。他提出要求，希望能看看拍下事发经过的电眼画面。由于案件还在调查中，警方昨晚回应媒体询问时，吁请公众不做没有根据的揣测，调查结果会有交代。

不幸在庆祝退伍的整人活动中落井溺毙的民防部队中士郭俨进， 被家人发现头部有伤，牙齿也断了两颗，怀疑是坠落泵井时撞击井壁造成的。不过，根据警方和验尸官的初步调查，这些伤是在井里和拯救过程中造成的。

由于案件还在调查中，警方昨晚回应媒体询问时，吁请公众不做没有根据的揣测，调查结果会有交代。

《联合早报》昨天报道，原本将在今天退伍的22岁民防部队服役人员郭俨进中士，星期天（13日）晚上9时20分，在大士景消防局的一项庆祝他退伍的整人活动中不幸出事，送往黄廷方综合医院后回魂乏术。

郭俨进的遗体已运回马六甲。郭俨进的父亲郭明桦（56岁，建筑工人）昨早受访时表示，儿子20岁入伍，一年半前被派到大士景消防局服务，一般在工作24小时后休息两天。原本健健康康的孩子走得如此突然，让人难以接受。

郭明桦说，儿子一个月前曾告诉家人，消防局在退伍前会举行“跳井仪式”（Kolam Ritual，Kolam 在马来文指池塘），而因为自己水性不好感到很担心。

母亲黄秀方（53岁，家庭主妇）则说，儿子没学过游泳，入伍前也不谙水性，至于入伍后是否有学游泳，儿子从来没说过。

郭明桦前天在妹妹及妹夫的陪同下到殓尸房认尸，他在认尸后说，儿子的额头和脸颊都有伤，还掉了两颗牙齿。

他说，儿子在整人行动中落泵井，众人发现他没有浮出水面后，有人一度跳进泵井找他，找不到人之后才将井水抽干。郭明桦哀痛表示，若儿子是在工作中殉职他能接受，但这是人为因素所致，他无法接受。

民防总监与高层到灵堂慰问

新加坡民防部队总监叶伟德、第四分区司令蔡思捷上校和大士景消防局局长黄伟康少校，昨天下午5时左右驱车来到郭俨进的灵堂。三人上香后瞻仰了郭俨进遗容，过后在灵堂外慰问死者的父母及家属。

郭明桦向他们提出要求，希望能看看拍下事发经过的电眼画面。郭明桦数次表示，他想知道儿子到底是自己跳进泵井，还是遭同事们丢进泵井里。他说：“我们不是要追究谁对谁错，是要看看儿子掉下井后，这些人有没有立刻救他。”

郭明桦也表示，若儿子真的是被丢入泵井，家属更想知道的是，同事们事后有没有立刻下水抢救。他说：“有勇气丢人，没勇气救人，就是谋杀。”

郭明桦说，民防部队提供了5000令吉给家人办后事，也给了一张9000新元的现金支票让家人应急。叶伟德等人抵达时，还另外交了一个装有帛金的信封给死者的家人。

郭俨进中士的遗体会停柩五天，周四早上出殡火化。

SCDF NSF who died was renting Boon Lay flat with girlfriend, planned to work as security officer here

May 15, 2018, 8:11 PM SGT
The Straits Times

Corporal Kok Yuen Chin moved to a rented apartment in Boon Lay with his girlfriend over the past year. ST PHOTO: JONATHAN CHOO

MELAKA - He went to school in Melaka but had dreams of settling down in Singapore and planned to get a job and buy a flat here with his girlfriend after his national service (NS).

But the dream died when Corporal Kok Yuen Chin, 22, drowned last Sunday (May 13).

Cpl Kok, who family members said had been a Singapore permanent resident from a young age, was found unconscious at the bottom of a 12m pump well at Tuas View Fire Station. He never recovered.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said he had been celebrating his impending Operationally Ready Date.

At his wake in Melaka on Tuesday (May 15), family members told The Straits Times that Cpl Kok had been excited at the prospect of finishing NS and starting the next chapter of his life in Singapore.

His attraction to the place grew by degrees.

His father Kok Meng Hwa, 56, has been a construction worker here for more than 20 years and even met his wife, who is from Ipoh, in Singapore. He applied for permanent residence status for his entire family shortly after his son - Cpl Kok - was born in Malaysia in 1996.

"I thought being a PR would allow my children to have more options," said the older Mr Kok, in obvious distress on Tuesday.

SCDF officers pay their respects to Corporal Kok Yuen Chin

The PR status also meant that, when he turned 18, the young man who was studying in Malaysia, got a letter asking him to serve NS.

He deferred, at first, as he completed Malaysia's equivalent of A levels at the age of 19. He also worried about the physical demands of NS.

But he warmed to the idea as it meant he could live and work in Singapore.

He spent the first few months serving SCDF, sharing a rented apartment with his father in Bukit Panjang.

Over the past year, he had moved to a rented apartment in Boon Lay with his girlfriend, a Malaysian who works here as a clerk.

The pair split a monthly rent of about $600, according to Mr Kok.

"My son wanted to be independent and he knew he wanted to start a life here, so even though he was not earning a lot, he wanted to try his best to make it work," he said.

Cpl Kok had planned to work as a security officer after NS.

"But he never even got the chance to try," said the older Mr Kok, who struggled to compose himself.

Cpl Kok's family members said they wanted a clearer picture of the events that unfolded last Sunday evening and cost the young man his life.

His paternal aunt, 55-year-old nurse Helen Kok, said the family hopes to be able to view recorded video footage of the incident as it still has "many questions left unanswered".

She said Cpl Kok had injuries on his face - including cuts on his chin and cheeks.

"We still do not know many things. He died in a fire station, full of life-savers, why could not they save him? Why did he have these injuries?" said Miss Kok.

"For us to have closure, we need to have these questions answered. We need to know what really happened."

Citing media reports of visible injuries discovered on Cpl Kok, the Singapore police said on Tuesday night that its preliminary investigation findings as well as findings from the pathologist indicate that the injuries were sustained in the well and during the rescue process.

“The Police would like to remind the public that investigations are ongoing and public should not speculate. The findings will be made known in due course,” it added.

Meanwhile, his mother, Madam Madam Wong Siew Fong, 53, blinked back tears and talked of how her son, who did not earn very much, would still send her money every month.

SCDF commissioner Eric Yap and other officers visited Cpl Kok's home in the Krubong area of Melaka to pay their respects late on Tuesday afternoon.

Family members said Cpl Kok will be cremated on Thursday morning.

落井亡民防父亲：儿水性不好担心跳井仪式

2018年5月15日 3:06 PM

联合晚报

左图：落井身亡的22岁服役人员郭俨进。（取自面簿）死者父亲郭明桦说儿子入伍前不会游泳。（邝启聪马六甲摄影）

退役三天前的庆祝活动，夺走一条人命，22岁民防部队中士遗体昨晚运回马六甲，父亲灵堂受访悲痛说：“儿子入伍前不会游泳，一个月前就担心退役时或进行的跳井仪式。”

《联合晚报》昨天（14日）报道，原本将在明天退伍的22岁民防部队服役人员郭俨进中士，前晚9时20分在大士南3道的大士景消防局，在庆祝即将结束全职国民服役时，不幸出事，送往黄廷方综合医院后回魂乏术。

死者来自马来西亚马六甲，是新加坡永久居民，在家排行第二，有一个姐姐及弟弟，父亲及姐姐在新加坡工作。他的遗体昨晚运回马六甲。

死者的父亲郭明桦（56岁，建筑工人）今早（15日）在马六甲的灵堂受访时说，儿子20岁入伍，在一年半前被派到大士景消防局服务。

父亲透露，儿子早在一个月前就有跟家人提过，指同袍曾提过，会在退伍前举行“跳井仪式”（Kolam Ritual，Kolam在马来文指池塘），因为自己水性不好，非常担心，希望没有事。

死者的母亲黄秀方（53岁，家庭主妇）也说：“我自小没有让儿子学游泳，入伍前他都不会游泳。”

至于在入伍后是否有学习游泳，父母都表示没听儿子说过。据悉，一般入伍的服役人员，无论是民防人员或是国防人员都必须学游泳。

父亲说，据他了解，当时儿子在庆祝活动中掉进泵井，众人发现他没有浮出水面后，有人跳进泵井里找他，但找不到，于是将泵井的水抽干。

“他们花了45分钟才把水抽干，最后在井底找到他时，他已经昏迷不醒了。”

撞伤脸颊 断两牙

落井亡的民防中士额头和脸颊有伤，两颗牙齿脱落，家人怀疑他掉进泵井时，脸部重重撞击到井墙导致的。死者的父亲昨天下午到大士景消防局，第一次看到儿子掉进的泵井，震惊表示：“进去了，都不知道要怎么出来！”

民防部队服役人员郭俨进的父亲郭明桦告诉《联合晚报》，昨天中午他在妹妹及妹夫的陪同下到殓尸房认尸时，发现儿子的额头及脸颊都有伤，还掉了两颗牙齿。

据记者现场所见，他认尸后泣不成声，激动地说“掉下去，就死了”，令人心酸。

他受访时说：“我怀疑他是跌进泵时，脸部撞到井壁所致。也许他因为头部被撞伤昏迷，沉进井底，以致溺水。”

郭明桦也说，昨天下午他也在妹妹及妹夫的陪同下，到大士景消防局进行招魂仪式。当他看到泵井时，整个人震惊不已。

“我以为泵井只有一张桌子那么大，但亲眼看到泵井原本那么大、那么深，井壁也没有任何可攀爬的梯道，进去都不知道怎么出来。”

民防捐9000元帛金

针对儿子在庆祝活动中不幸丧命，父亲哀伤表示，若是在工作中殉职他还能接受，但若是人为因素所致，他不能接受。

父亲透露，民防部队给了他们5000令吉筹办儿子的后事，也给了一张9000新元的现金支票为帛金。

郭俨进中士将停柩五天，周四早上出殡火化。

SCDF corporal who died in alleged ragging incident was well liked

May 15, 2018 06:00 am
The New Paper

Corporal Kok Yuen Chin. PHOTO: FACEBOOK

Corporal Kok Yuen Chin, a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) full-time national serviceman who died during a celebration gone wrong, was well liked by colleagues for his optimism and determination to push through challenges.

The introverted Melaka native, who was known as "Kok" to his friends, would never give up during exercises and was always smiling, said a batchmate who went through a three-month firefighting course with him in 2016.

On Sunday, colleagues celebrated Cpl Kok's impending operationally ready date (ORD) by putting him into a pump well at Tuas View Fire Station. The well is used for training and the testing of fire engine pumps.

When he did not resurface, several SCDF personnel jumped in, and they drained the well of water.

But Cpl Kok was found unconscious and was later pronounced dead at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.

His batchmate, who wanted to remain anonymous, said yesterday that the 22-year-old would return to Melaka every weekend, yet was rarely late when returning for duty.

Another batchmate, who also declined to be named, said in Mandarin: "I will always remember the good things he did for me. My friends and I are heartbroken that he died like this.

"Now I can only pray for him, and hope that he rests in peace."

SCDF NSF who died in pump well could not swim

May 15, 2018 06:00 am
The New Paper

He could not swim, and had told his siblings in Melaka he was afraid of being thrown into the pump well when he returned to Singapore.

Corporal (CPL) Kok Yuen Chin's colleagues from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) had told him that he would be thrown into the 12m-deep well to celebrate his last few days in service.

But the full-time national serviceman's aunt, Madam Kok Chun Fa, said that her nephew saw it as anything but celebratory.

"Everyone in the camp knew that he was afraid of water, and could not swim," she told The New Paper in an interview last night. "The whole family was worried, but we thought there would be someone supervising the situation."

Cpl Kok, who had returned to Malaysia to vote in the general election last week, even bought snacks to take back to Singapore for his colleagues to try to persuade them not to rag him.

His pleas fell on deaf ears, as Cpl Kok ended up in the Tuas View Fire Station's pump well on Sunday, where he was found unconscious at about 9.20pm.

He was rushed to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital but was pronounced dead.

Former Civil Defence servicemen and regulars told TNP that ragging, carried out in the spirit of camaraderie, is a rite of passage firefighters undergoing training often face.

Activities range from relatively harmless acts like pinning somebody down and applying boot polish to their skin, to throwing someone into water.

While commanders often remind and warn their men against such prohibited activities, they still happen because of the deep-seated tradition.

While the activities are usually harmless and carried out without ill-intent, sometimes they can end up very wrong, like in Cpl Kok's case.

Following the incident, two SCDF regular personnel were arrested yesterday.

They are a Warrant Officer 1 and a Staff Sergeant, who worked the same shift duty at the fire station along with Cpl Kok, SCDF said in a media statement last night.

The 12-m deep well, which is used for marine and rescue training or to test water pumping equipment, has a 1.8m diameter opening, said SCDF.

During the incident, the water level was about one metre below the opening of the well.

Cpl Lee was pulled out of the well only after the water was drained. A number of SCDF personnel had jumped into the pump well to look for him when he failed to resurface.

"He had been celebrating his impending ORD with his squad mates, and one of the activities involved getting him into the pump well," the SCDF statement said.

A former SCDF regular who contacted TNP yesterday said such ragging is typically done to mark an NSF's end of service in the SCDF. TNP understands that while SCDF bans such practices, it continues to be carried out occasionally.

Describing the incident as a clear violation of SCDF's rules and a tragic loss of life, Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said it should not have happened at all.

"It is unacceptable, period. We will get to the bottom of it,"he promised.

Mr Shanmugam added that he had asked SCDF to conduct an audit, whereby action would be taken against perpetrators of unsanctioned activities.

He said: "We have to send a clear message. Action has been taken before, when conduct which is not sanctioned takes place, celebration or otherwise.

"But then after a while, people forget and break the rules again."

The SCDF said that it appeared the mishap arose as a result of activities which SCDF has prohibited.
SCDF deputy commissioner Chong Hoi Hung stressed that the SCDF does not condone unauthorised activities. He said that this was the first such death related to an unauthorised activity.
Cpl Kok's family has taken his body back to Melaka.

SCDF said: "The police are conducting investigations to determine what had happened, including how Cpl Kok fell into the pump well, and whether any person(s) are criminally responsible."

A Board of Inquiry (BOI) will also be convened to look into the case, with full details to be made public in due course.

The death comes two weeks after an Singapore Armed Forces NSF, Private Dave Lee, died on April 30 after suffering from heatstroke during a march. He was promoted to Corporal First Class after his death.

In 2016, an SCDF recruit died three days after enlisting. Before his death, he made a Facebook post where he said his bunkmates found him "blur" and a burden.

In 2015, 23 SCDF officers faced disciplinary action after a video of them trashing their bunk went viral.