Judges up penalties for 3 NS dodgers, new sentencing framework in the works
SINGAPORE — A new sentencing framework to guide punishments for National Service defaulters — commensurate with how much they fall short of their obligations — will be drawn up soon, said the High Court on Tuesday (April 25), as it significantly raised the sentences for three NS dodgers.
SINGAPORE — A new sentencing framework to guide punishments for National Service defaulters — commensurate with how much they fall short of their obligations — will be drawn up soon, said the High Court on Tuesday (April 25), as it significantly raised the sentences for three NS dodgers.
A coram of three judges comprising Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Judge of Appeal Chao Hick Tin and Justice See Kee Oon also deliberated on several issues that were raised in the appeal for heavier sentences by prosecutors for these defaulters, such as whether a person’s good performance during NS should be factored into their sentencing — to which the judges gave an emphatic “no”.
Delivering the oral judgment on behalf of the judges, CJ Menon said: “We also do not think that the standard of performance of the defaulter who returns to serve National Service can as a general rule be a relevant consideration. We say this, again because it is the obligation of every male Singaporean to do his best in his National Service. This is simply a matter of national pride and loyalty.”
He added: “And it seems to us wrong for a defaulter who does no more than that what many, if not most, of his law-abiding fellow National Servicemen are doing, to be rewarded in some way.”
The judges were ruling on the cases involving two brothers — Sakthikanesh Chidambaram, 26, and Vandana Kumar Chidambaram, 24 — as well as Ang Lee Thye, 44.
Sakthikanesh’s jail term was more than tripled from three weeks to 10 weeks, after failing to report for NS for about five-and-a-half years. Vandana, who was initially fined S$6,000 for failing to report for NS for about three-and-a-half years, will be jailed for seven weeks.
Ang’s jail term was increased from 24 months to 33 months after he completely evaded his NS obligations. He had remained outside of Singapore without a valid exit permit for 23.5 years — the longest possible default period under the Enlistment Act — and timed his return to the country after he turned 40, when he could no longer serve NS.
The two brothers enlisted into the army in 2014 after returning from India. Sakthikanesh had qualified for the Officer Cadet School while Vandana won Company’s Soldier of the Month award. In October last year, District Judge John Ng ruled that the “exceptional nature of their performances in NS” was a strong mitigating factor and gave them a discounted sentence.
CJ Menon pointed out on Tuesday that if good performances in NS are considerations in sentencing, it would be “unfair to defaulters who are less fit”. And as prosecutors had argued, it would also “create a perverse incentive for fit Singaporeans to choose unlawfully to do their NS later, when they are the ones most needed at the time of their enlistment”, the Chief Justice noted. The judges also failed to see how the court can be in the position to assess what constitutes good enough performance for this purpose. Nevertheless, it might take into consideration “exceptional acts of valour or heroism”.
In his judgment, CJ Menon said the three appeals gave the court the opportunity to consider a number of issues relevant to the sentencing of NS defaulters.
There are three underlying principles affecting NS, which are national security, universality and equity.
“What this means, in practical terms, is that every male Singaporean must serve NS at the time he is required to under the Enlistment Act without regard to personal convenience and considerations,” he said.
A key sentencing focus for such offences should be that of deterrence, to ensure that those who are required to serve NS do not evade or postpone these obligations to “a time or on terms of their own choosing or convenience”.
“Were it otherwise, over time the attitude that NS can be done on one’s own terms will weaken our national security and this is simply intolerable,” said CJ Menon.
The judges disagreed with a High Court decision made last February, which had set out guidelines on the sentences to be given out to these defaulters. Among other things, it set out a table that pegs the age at which the defaulter returns to Singapore to the range of discount he would get if he performed exceptionally in NS.
Instead, a modified form of the sentencing approach — as suggested by the prosecutors in their submissions on Tuesday — will be adopted and explained in the judges’ detailed grounds of decision which will be issued in due course, said the Chief Justice.
Prosecutors had suggested a sentencing framework based on the default period, the defaulter’s age and ability to serve full-time NS in a combat role, as well as his ability to serve his obligation as an operationally-ready NSman in full.
The custodial range starts from those who default for two years, and at the other end of the spectrum will be the “worst category” of offenders who avoid their NS obligations completely, CJ Menon said.
In between are “those who by reason of their default, impair their ability to serve their NS obligations, either in terms of duration or in terms of their ability”.
The judges said they also did not find the issue of how long a defaulter has spent away from the country or the extent to which they have benefited from the Singapore citizenship to be relevant to sentencing, unless it affects their culpability.
“Any other view will severely undermine the principle of universality and equity by differentiating between classes of citizenship when in truth there are no classes of citizenship,” CJ Menon said.