Source: The Straits Times

A FORMER deputy director in the Defence Ministry’s defence policy office has been convicted for misconduct under military law.

The senior army officer, who was brought before a tribunal on Jan 7, was fined $6,000 for the offence.

Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Teo Li-Wei, 33, pleaded guilty to one charge of behaving in a manner unbecoming of a member of the Singapore Armed Forces.

His offence involved a female subordinate, although the exact nature of what happened was not made public.

The court martial took place at a subordinate military court at the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Court Martial Centre in Choa Chu Kang Way on Monday.

The SAF scholar, who has a son but is separated from his wife, has also been suspended from his duties, said Mindef.

The Straits Times understands that Lt-Col Teo will leave the SAF following the legal proceedings.

Monday’s hearing took place two weeks after Lt-Col Teo’s lawyers asked for a Jan 7 court martial to be adjourned to give them time to make legal representations to the military prosecutor.

The former Hwa Chong Junior College student was part of a four-man team which represented Singapore in the World Schools Debating Championships in 1995. He then snagged an SAF scholarship and studied at Oxford University.

He went on to graduate with a master’s degree in international relations from the London School of Economics.

The infantry-trained officer is the highest-ranking SAF officer to be brought before a military court for offences related to dealings with female subordinates in a decade.

In June 2000, an army colonel admitted making sexual advances towards a married female subordinate. For his offence, he was demoted to the rank of major and lost more than $325,000 in retirement benefits.

Under the SAF Act, Lt-Col Teo could have been jailed up to two years.