The Singapore Armed Forces announced that it is relooking other means of punishing reservist servicemen who do not take their mandatory miitary fitness test 3 times. It says the current practice of putting them through a 5-day physical fitness boot camp while undergoing confinement will be put on hold and reviewed.
According to the SAF, Individual Physical Proficiency Tests (IPPT) have been made less of a chore by cutting down on the physical fitness requirements when the SAF launched a new watered-down physical fitness test 2 months ago.
For now, those who skip their IPPT tests will pay a $100 fine or be thrown into detention barracks, the army equivalent of prison. The SAF claims that the latter punishment is rarely meted out, however.
The army's assistant chief of general staff (training), Colonel Ng Ying Thong, would say only that as the SAF gives servicemen greater ownership of their fitness, it will also "review the disciplinary framework for IPPT defaulters".
"Physical fitness is a personal responsibility... The SAF maintains a tough stand against IPPT defaulters, and disciplinary actions will be taken against NSmen who do not take their IPPT annually," said assistant chief of general staff (training) Col Ng Ying Thong. He did not say what these disciplinary actions were.