Singaporean charged with defaulting on NS obligations for five years

SINGAPORE — A 22-year-old man was charged on Monday (July 15) with defaulting on his National Service (NS) obligations for five years, by remaining outside Singapore when his exit permit expired or when he did not have a valid permit.

Jonathan Lee Han Wen, a Singaporean, faces five charges under the Enlistment Act.

He is accused of staying out of the country for three years and three months from Sept 1, 2013 to Jan 1, 2017, upon the expiry of his exit permit.

He was aged between 16 and 20 years old then. 

Under the Enlistment Act, all male Singapore citizens are required to apply for an exit permit if they travel overseas for three months or longer.

He also allegedly did not comply with a Further Reporting Order within that period, by failing to report for his medical screening and pre-enlistment documentation.

Subsequently, from April 4, 2017 to Sept 2, 2018, Lee allegedly remained outside of Singapore without a valid exit permit. Court documents did not state where he went.

He also purportedly failed to report for enlistment into full-time NS in that period.

He will return to court on Aug 13, and is out on S$10,000 bail.

If convicted of any of the charges, he could be jailed up to three years, fined up to S$10,000, or both.

In a similar case involving a Singapore permanent resident who defaulted on his obligations for five years and seven months, the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said at the time that it takes a firm stand against those who commit offences under the Enlistment Act.

Thirumal Pavithran, who has since served his NS, was sentenced to 10 weeks’ jail.

The ministry said then: "If we allow Singapore citizens or PRs who are overseas to evade NS or to choose when they want to serve NS, we are not being fair to the vast majority of our national servicemen who serve their country dutifully, and the institution of NS will be undermined."