SAF officer found dead: Only 4 years from retirement

First Warrant Officer, Rajendran Pachemuthu, 51, was found hanging from a tree yesterday in army training area in Lentor. The reason for his apparent suicide is unclear as he was only 4 years from retirement.

Officer Rajendran is believed to have rose from rank and file in the Combat Engineers formation. Currently known to be a trainer at the Engineer Training Institute, he was a former "encik" at 30the Battalion Singapore Combat Engineers. His former charges described him as "hard on the outside, soft on the inside", "friendly" and "does not throw his weight around".

Last May, another SAF regular, 2nd Sergeant (2SG) Suresh S/O Seluras, 24, was found hanging from a rope in Changi Airbase. He was a military policeman from the 608th Squadron.

RIP.