Dominique Sarron

Dominique Sarron was born in 1991 and died on 17 April 2012 due to their breathing difficulties. He stays at Blk 120 Tampines Street 11. He studies at Singapore Sports School and Temasek Polytechnic.

On 17 April 2012, PTE Lee participated in an exercise at the Murai Urban Training Facility at Lim Chu Kang. Smoke grenades were thrown outside a building. PTE Lee entered one of the rooms of that building, and experienced breathing difficulties after exposure to the smoke. He was immediately accompanied away from the smoke but lost consciousness outside the building. He received Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation on the spot and was evacuated in a safety vehicle to the Sungei Gedong Medical Centre, before being sent to the National University Hospital (NUH) in an SAF ambulance. Resuscitative efforts by an SAF medical officer continued throughout the journey and at NUH. The COI found that "the medical aid rendered was timely, adequate and proper". Regrettably however, PTE Lee was pronounced dead after these attempts failed. The COI found that the number of smoke grenades used in the exercise exceeded the limit specified in training safety regulations. The Training Safety Regulations, or TSR, stipulate that the minimum distance between each thrown smoke grenade should be not less than 20m and that the minimum distance between troops and the thrown smoke grenade should not be less than 10m. Based on the exercise layout, not more than two smoke grenades should have been used, but the Platoon Commander had thrown six grenades instead. The COI opined that "if the TSR had been complied with, PTE Lee and his platoon mates would not have been subjected to smoke that was as dense as that during the incident, and... for as long as they were during the incident" and that "reduced exposure to smoke would have reduced the risks of any adverse reactions to the smoke." The COI concluded that "the cause of death of PTE Lee resulted from inhalation of the fumes from the smoke grenades used in the incident".

The COI is of the opinion that the actions of the Platoon Commander, a Regular Captain, were negligent as he was aware of the specific TSR but did not comply with it.

PTE Lee's pre-enlistment medical screening records revealed that he had a history of asthma. The COI found that PTE Lee’s medical classification and vocational assignment were appropriate, based on the severity and control of his asthma condition. The COI was unable to establish with certainty if PTE Lee’s history of asthma was a contributory factor to his death. First, the COI noted that the specific effects of zinc chloride fumes on asthmatics had not been reported in medical literature. Second, adverse reactions to zinc chloride can occur even in individuals without asthma. Third, other platoon mates with asthma had developed only mild symptoms after the exposure to the zinc chloride fumes in the same exercise.

To prevent a recurrence, the COI recommended measures to ensure compliance with TSRs through strengthening the role of the Safety Officer and educating commanders and troops on Training Safety Regulations.

First, on the use of smoke grenades in training. Smoke grenades which produce zinc chloride fumes have been in use by the SAF since the 1970s. They are also used by other militaries and agencies such as the United States and the Republic of Korea militaries because in acceptable concentrations of exposure, these smoke grenades are safe. Lung injury following exposure to zinc chloride fumes, and even deaths, have been reported in international literature but the numbers are few and mainly occur after exposure to high concentrations of zinc chloride fumes. In fact, PTE Lee’s death directly attributable to zinc chloride inhalation is the first on SAF’s records.

To update our TSR for smoke grenades, MINDEF had in 1998 commissioned the Department of Community, Occupational and Family Medicine of the National University of Singapore to conduct a detailed technical evaluation of smoke grenades. Specifically, concentrations of zinc chloride fumes were measured at different distances from the thrown smoke grenades to determine the safety parameters. The findings of that study now form the TSR for smoke grenades that I have previously detailed.

Smoke grenades, which have zinc chloride fumes, are still safe to use if TSRs are observed. However, despite these assurances, I can understand the anxiety of our soldiers and their families, arising from this isolated incident of a death due to inhalation of zinc chloride fumes. So that our soldiers can train with confidence, MINDEF would like to address these concerns directly.

Following PTE Lee's death, the SAF has suspended for training exercises the use of smoke grenades which produce zinc chloride fumes. The suspension will continue as the SAF is studying using smoke grenades which do not produce zinc chloride for training exercises. For missions, we will continue to use zinc chloride smoke grenades as they are judged still to be the most operationally effective.

The second public concern arising from this case is due to asthma as a significant proportion of National Servicemen - one in five - have asthma, albeit often in a mild form. The SAF convened a Respiratory Medicine Specialist Advisory Board consisting of five senior respiratory medicine specialists to address this issue, taking into account the COI report. The Advisory Board concluded that the SAF medical classifications on asthma are relevant, up to date and in line with national and international standards. It is still safe for servicemen with a history of asthma to undergo training with smoke grenades if the TSRs are followed. I thank the COI and the Board for their valuable work.

MINDEF has relieved the exercise Chief Safety Officer, Captain Chia Thye Siong and the Platoon Commander who threw the smoke grenades, Captain Najib Hanuk Bin Muhamad Jalal, they have been relieved of their duties. They have been re-deployed to assignments which do not oversee soldiers in training or operations. Following procedures and due process, the Chief Military Prosecutor will determine if these personnel should be subject to a General Court Martial (GCM), to establish their degree of culpability and if found guilty, mete out the appropriate punishment. Police investigations are also on-going to determine whether to prosecute the personnel involved in Civil Court.

The cause of death was certified by the forensic pathologist of the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) to be due to an "acute allergic reaction to zinc chloride due to inhalation of zinc chloride fumes". Zinc chloride is a primary component of smoke grenades currently used in the SAF.

On December 2015, Dominique Sarron's parents were suing the government, inclusive of the Coroner's Inquiry in 2013.