“If_I_Had_Only_Pressed_It_a_Few_Seconds_Earlier,_”_He__She_Moaned

“If I had only pressed it a few seconds earlier,” Tom moaned as vivid memories of the traumatic incident flashed back in his mind. “Now that you have learnt the structure of the detonator, you have come to the most important part of the lesson…” Tom’s voice was filled with enthusiasm as he declared to the rowdy class of young recruits. “You shall learn how to defuse a bomb.” Tom is a second sergeant from the third battalion of the Singapore School of Combat Engineers. He was training a class of young recruits in preparation for the upcoming “Live Firing” exercise. “Hey you! Recruit Tan Ah Meng! Pay attention to this topic! If you cut the wrong wire, this will blow up in your face.” Pointing to the detonator, Tom warned his class of restless students as he singled out Tan Ah Meng. Tan Ah Meng is a eighteen year old recruit who has just graduated from a neighbourhood junior college. He is the only son of a food stall hawker. His mother who helps out at the food stall is most proud of her son’s latest accomplishment of three distinctions at the recent GCE A’ levels examinations. Tan Ah Meng is a charm. He is fun loving and has an outgoing personality. He is famous and popular among the young recruits. As such he is often distracted by his friends as they tend to grab his attention whenever they get together in class. “…Now that you have dismantled the bomb, look out for the blue and red wire. Gently untwine the wires to separate the blue and red wire, and then cut the blue wire…there, you’re done.” While Tom was emphasizing on how to defuse a bomb, Tan Ah Meng was busy sending messages on his phone, trying to organize a class outing after the “Live Firing” exercise the next day. The following day, during the “Live Firing” exercise, it was Tan Ah Meng’s turn to defuse the bomb. Tom was under a shelter several hundred meters away looking intensively through his binoculars. His right hand was over the emergency button ever ready to prevent any explosion. Tan Ah Meng on the other hand was perspiring profusely under the intense heat of the afternoon sun. Sweat was dripping down from his forehead to his eyes, blurring his vision. The heat was getting to his head. He was under immense pressure to defuse the bomb within the time limit. He had twenty more seconds to go before the timed explosion. Tan Ah Meng was panicking as he trembled to untwine the wires. He could not decide which wire to cut as he had not paid attention during class. This proved to be a costly mistake. “KAaaaaaaaboom!” Everyone who witnessed the explosion was in a state of shock and disbelief. Tom dropped his binoculars and left his mouth gapping. For a minute, the whole world stood still. Debris from the explosion came raining down from the sky. Just as the dust was settling, the paramedics rushed in with their stretchers to rescue the severely burnt Tan Ah Meng. Tan Ah Meng lost his right arm in the accident and suffered first degree burns throughout his whole body. When Tom visited Tan Ah Meng at the Singapore General Hospital, Tan Ah Meng’s mother was weeping uncontrollably and had to be consoled by her husband. Tom was feeling very uncomfortable as he felt responsible for what had happened to Tan Ah Meng. He apologized profusely to the Tan family “If I had only pressed it a few seconds earlier…”