SAF doctor found dead was offered new post

SAF doctor found dead was offered new post

By Jermyn Chow

THE Defence Ministry has come out for the first time to address the issues surrounding the sudden death of Captain (Dr) Allan Ooi in Melbourne, Australia, earlier this month.

Its spokesman, Colonel Darius Lim, said Capt Ooi's superiors were aware of his unhappiness over his work, and had offered him a different appointment. But he never got back to his boss about whether he would take the option.

The Republic of Singapore Air Force medical officer, 27, was found dead underneath Melbourne's Westgate Bridge on March 3. In a note he left behind, he said, among other things, that he was unhappy at work. He lamented that he spent more time doing administrative work such as writing articles for the air force in-house magazine, than treating patients.

Capt (Dr) Ooi, a Singapore Armed Forces scholar, had wanted out of the SAF.

Col Lim said in a letter to The Straits Times Forum Page that on Oct 3 last year, Capt (Dr) Ooi was offered "the option of posting to an appointment which he would be interested in". He did not elaborate on what the appointment was.

Capt (Dr) Ooi was to get back to his superiors on the matter in two weeks time.

"However, he did not do so," Col Lim added.

Instead, on Oct 15, when the two weeks would have been up, he was declared as having gone AWOL or absent without official leave.

It is believed that he left the country on Oct 13, leaving his family and his employer in the dark as to his whereabouts.

The note he left behind for family and friends had been circulating widely on the Internet, setting off much chatter in blogs and forums about the SAF's scholarship regime and its inflexibility.

In the Mindef letter, Col Lim said Capt (Dr) Ooi took up an SAF scholarship to study medicine at the National University of Singapore in 2000. In return, he was to serve a 12-year bond which started in April 2006.

In January last year, he was sent for a six month stint in aviation medicine in London. When he returned, Capt (Dr) Ooi was posted to the Aeromedical Centre to perform "clinical and staff work".

Col Lim said Capt (Dr) Ooi was scheduled to go for his hospital posting at the end of this year. It is the practice for SAF medical doctors on scholarships to do a six-year stint in a hospital and the other six in command and staff positions in the SAF Medical Corps.

The SAF offers six scholarship schemes, including its most prestigious SAF Overseas Scholarship (Safos).

The bond period for such scholarships is between four and six years, depending on the length of study and whether it is in a local university or overseas one.

In 2006, the bond period for the revamped Local Medicine Scholarship was shortened from 12 years to six years.

Capt (Dr) Ooi's family has maintained that another three years were added to his bond as a result of the London training under SAF sponsorship. Col Lim did not address this issue in the Mindef letter.

He said SAF scholars had to serve out their bonds as "substantial resources and time have been devoted to training them". Otherwise, he added, they will leave "gaps in key positions in the SAF".

Those who want to leave the armed forces earlier can apply through a "proper process", though early release will be granted "only under strong and extenuating circumstances", said Col Lim.

He declined to elaborate on what these circumstances were or how many SAF scholars had been granted early release.

When contacted, Capt (Dr) Ooi's brother, Dr Adrian Ooi, 28, a doctor at the Singapore General Hospital, said the family would like to meet Mindef officials to clarify the issues raised.

He added: "We hope that we will get more answers through a direct dialogue with the authorities."