Body found at resort could be missing Singapore naval officer
Body found at resort could be missing Singapore naval officer
Agence France-Presse, Singapore
A body found on Sunday at a beach resort on the Indonesian island of Bintan could be one of three Singaporean naval officers missing after their ship collided with a merchant vessel, the defense ministry said.
"There is a possibility that the body is one of the three women specialists who are still unaccounted for," the ministry said in a brief statement.
The defense ministry said it was informed a body of a Chinese female was found at the Bintan Lagoon Resort at 10:00 a.m. (09:00 a.m. Jakarta).
Bintan lies to the southeast of Singapore, separated by the Singapore Straits and is about 45 minutes away from the city- state via ferry.
Officials from the Singapore Armed Forces, Singapore Navy and police are now at the Indonesian island to identify the body, the defense ministry said but gave no further details.
Meanwhile, search operations are still continuing for three missing female naval officers after a fourth was found on Saturday lodged between the bunks of the sleeping quarters of the RSS Courageous anti-submarine ship.
"Work is still in progress to locate the other three servicewomen," the defense ministry said.
Local media reports said 22-year-old Goh Hui Ling, whose body was found by navy divers on Saturday, was believed to be the first Singaporean woman to die while on military duty.
The four women, specialists in handling naval weapons and communications systems, were in the sleeping quarters at the back of the anti-submarine ship when it collided with the Dutch- registered container vessel ANL Indonesia before midnight on Friday in the Singapore Straits.
Part of the rear of the RSS Courageous was sheared off from the collision, leaving a compressed mass of metal in what used to be the sleeping quarters.
The ship was towed to the Changi Naval Base here on Saturday and raised from the water for easier access to the quarters.
Defense Minister Tony Tan told the nation to be prepared for the worst. "We have to be prepared for the worst. Our hearts go out to the families of the four servicewomen," Tan said Saturday.
Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong on Saturday night said the accident "should not have happened."
"But it has. I am sorry it has happened," he said.
Meanwhile, Malaysia said on Sunday that the collision of a Singaporean navy ship with a merchant vessel at a disputed islet could have been avoided if both countries had carried out joint sea patrols.
The collision was occurred on late Friday between the RSS Courageous and the ANL Indonesia in the Singapore Straits near the islet of Pedra Branca, where Singapore maintains a lighthouse.
The islet is also claimed by Malaysia, which calls it Batu Putih.
"Such accidents can be avoided," Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.
"It is good when both parties carry out monitoring... I think it's better for us to cooperate with each other and understand each other's presence without the intention of getting engaged in aggression or physical contact."
Syed Hamid said Malaysia regretted the tragedy. Despite a dispute over ownership of Batu Putih, he called for joint sea patrols with Singapore in the busy waters near the islet to prevent future incidents.
The 55,000-tonne merchant ship, on its way from Malaysia to South Korea, suffered minor damage to its bow but there were no injuries among the 11 Indonesian and 12 Dutch crew members.