NSF Went AWOL & Stole His Brother’s Passport to Flee to Batam; Spat at Officer When He Was Detained

After living for a significant amount of time in Singapore, you’ll notice a few things:

• Singaporeans love queuing for things
• Singaporeans love bubble tea more than they love themselves
• Breaking the law is basically impossible

See, getting away with breaking the law in Singapore is like eating one only potato chip. It’s theoretically possible, but it very rarely happens.

So, what will give you the courage to try it even though you know how hard it is?

Youth.

A Bad Getaway Plan

Unless you’re Michael Scofield and planning to live out the rest of your days on a beach in a faraway land, going absent without official leave (Awol) during National Service is a pretty dumb thing to do.

So when 20-year-old Lim Jin Wei went Awol, he decided to flee the country to evade the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).

Four months after going Awol last year, Lim went to the Singapore Cruise Centre on 27 Feb to purchase a ferry ticket to Batam, TODAYonline reported.

It sounds like a decent getaway plan, right? Except he used his brother’s passport.

This was a major mistake, as he failed to clear the departure section before boarding the boat because his fingerprints did not match the records linked to his brother’s passport.

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Pointed Middle Finger & Spat At Officer

Since he was uncooperative with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer who asked for his identification card number, police officers were called in, and he was arrested.

Later on, when the officers were conducting a search on Lim, the 20-year-old became upset and flashed his middle finger at an officer before cursing at him.

But that wasn’t enough.

After the search, when Lim was placed in a holding area, he spat on the face of the same officer.

Not His Offence

This may come as a shock to you, given his exemplary behaviour under the care of the police, but this isn’t Lim’s first offence.

Lee was given 18 months’ probation in Nov 2017 for driving under the age of 18 and without insurance coverage.

On Wednesday (20 May), the NSF pleaded guilty to one charge for an offence under the Passports Act, and a charge each for using abusive words and criminal force on a public servant.

But since he’s still a young kid on the cusp of adulthood, prosecutors requested probation and a reformative training report to be called for Lim’s latest offences.

According to TODAYonline, probation is typically offered to first-time offenders aged between 16 and 21.

It does not count as a criminal conviction, and offenders can continue with their education or employment while serving their sentences.

District Judge Eddy Tham did not object to this request. Lee’s sentencing will be deferred until 15 June.

Don’t Abuse Officers

Just a couple of weeks ago, another man was charged for spitting at a police officer.

This is a terrible idea for one main reason: You’re adding another charge to your list of offences.

Why make things worse for yourself? If you’ve been caught, just accept your punishment because abusing police officers will just add more time to your stint in jail or more zeroes to your fine.

Plus, you know, it’s not nice to spit on people.

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