DPA
Singapore’s Defence Ministry said Wednesday that two of its soldiers, not just one, were accidentally shot by a villager while they were taking part in a night training exercise in March in Thailand.
A ministry spokeswoman confirmed a report by The Straits Times newspaper that said a second soldiers was wounded. Apart from a sergeant, 19-year-old Private J Pritheery Raj had also been wounded when a villager out hunting inadvertently opened fire on them, the daily said.
Raj still had shotgun pellets lodged in his cheekbones and his right shoulder and was on medical leave, the report said, citing one of Raj’s relatives.
On Tuesday, the ministry had confirmed that First Sergeant Woo Teng Hai, 25, suffered head injuries in the incident.
He had been discharged from hospital at the end of March, the Times said.
The shootings happened March 13 in a designated military training area in Thailand’s western province of Kanchanaburi.
Because of limited space on its home turf, Singapore’s armed forces have agreements with several countries to train on their soil.
Asked why the shootings were not reported earlier, the spokeswoman said it was usual practice for the ministry not to report on military training accidents.