How does Mindef compensates the family of a serviceman who dies while in service.

The Ministry of Defence has  disclosed how it compensates the family of a serviceman who dies while in service. 

A ministry spokesperson said the family will receive a death gratuity equivalent to 12 months of the last drawn monthly gross salary of a regular serviceman of equivalent rank. 

In a reply to MediaCorp, MINDEF said  the death gratuity is outside of its compensation framework. 

Under MINDEF's compensation framework, a compensation quantum will be awarded to the family of the deceased serviceman if the death was due to service. 

And if the death has occurred during military training, the family will also receive a Special Award - which doubles the total compensation award compared to what is prescribed under the law. 

But all this may be cold comfort to the bereaved families of Third Sergeant Tan Mou Sheng and Private Dominique Lee - who died during training earlier this year. 

Findings from the Committees of Inquiry convened after their deaths have uncovered breaches of training safety regulations, prompting the Defence Ministry to make systemic changes to strengthen training safety. 

MINDEF says that it will also be reviewing measures to reinforce training safety management of servicemen with a history of asthma.