In addition to keeping your glorious hair short in school, serving national service is an inescapable part of a Singaporean man’s life.
Many have tried using various excuses to evade it, and most of them have failed.
As we’ve been told, national service (NS) is an important part of the country’s efforts to build a credible defence force to safeguard Singapore’s independence.
In other words, it’s freaking important.
So, if you’re a Singaporean man and you choose not to serve, be prepared to face stern punishment, even if you’ve spent most of your life in another country.
Man Defaulted NS for 10 Years After Mother Applied NRIC for Him
A 28-year-old Singaporean pleaded guilty on Thursday (1 Oct) to two charges under the Enlistment Act after he defaulted on his NS obligations for nearly 10 years.
Two other similar charges will be taken into consideration, according to The Straits Times.
The man, Basil Lim Boon Hoh, had remained outside of Singapore without a valid exit permit for a total of nine years, 11 months and 16 days, and returned in 2018 to serve his national service.
Lim, who is a Singapore citizen, left for Malaysia when was just a year old (he didn’t go on his own, of course).
His mother is a Malaysian, while his father, with whom he is no longer in contact, is Singaporean.
Even though Lim was granted Malaysian citizenship in 2001, his mother still applied for a Singapore NRIC on his behalf in 2007 because she wanted him to have a choice in the future, according to court documents.
Despite being in Malaysia for so long, Lim was actually aware of his NS obligations, as his father had informed him about it before he turned 10.
But, when he was 16, his mother told him he could disregard these obligations because he had Malaysian citizenship.
This, as Lim would later find out, was not true.
Wanted to Renounce Singapore Citizenship
In 2009, two notices were sent to Lim’s address in Malaysia, informing him of two obligations:
- Registering online for NS
- Reporting to CMPB
Lim, however, failed to do both.
Seven years later, in 2016, Lim’s lawyer wrote to CPMB and asked that Lim be allowed to renounce his Singapore citizenship.
This request was rejected.
So, Lim returned to Singapore to enlist two years later, in March 2018.
He began his national service in August 2018 and completed it in August this year.
Now, Lim wants to keep his Singapore citizenship because he does not speak Malay well and wants to work here.
Hid Facts from Son
In Lim’s defence, his mother claimed that she had provided CMPB with the address of her previous home, and that they had not received the notices informing Lim of his obligations.
But she also admitted to hiding facts about his NS obligations from her son because she did not want him to return to Singapore.
According to a new sentencing framework introduced in 2017, Lim can be jailed for up to eight months for defaulting on his NS obligations for nearly 10 years.
His trial is still ongoing.
So, what have we learnt? Well, clearly, the safest thing to do as a Singaporean man is to simply serve your two years of national service, forget all about it, and move on with your life.
Reader: Except when you get called up for ICT
Oh right, I forgot about that.
For that, never forget about it because no one would reject a paid chalet.
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