Garrett Alexander Gan Kok Leong, an American citizen, received a nine-week jail sentence yesterday (7 October) for failing to fulfill his National Service (NS) obligations more than two decades ago.
A routine visit home to check on his elderly father, who’d suffered a stroke, ended in an arrest and a tiring legal battle for the 40-year-old.
On 22 January, as Gan was leaving Singapore to return home to the US, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) arrested him at Changi Airport.
According to Gan’s lawyer, Danny Quah of CHP Law, Gan was told he was “being investigated for offences committed under the Enlistment Act” because he’d failed to respond to the enlistment notices sent in May 2003.
He ended up pleading guilty to two charges under the Enlistment Act of 1970 for remaining outside Singapore without an exit permit from 31 May, 2003, to 28 September, 2006. Two additional charges were also considered, though the details are unknown as of now.
Gan’s lawyer sought a nine-week jail term, against the nine to 10-week jail term that Deputy Public Prosecutor Timotheus Koh recommended.
Since Gan surrendered and pleaded guilty early, the judge issued a sentence at the lower end of the recommended range. Gan’s sentencing brings the total number of NS defaulters who have received jail terms in Singapore to 27.
Failure to Respond to Enlistment Notice in 2003
Born in the United States, Gan was only certified as a Singapore citizen because his father was a Singaporean.
Gan spent most of his childhood overseas in the United States, where he also held citizenship by birth. In 1994, when he was about 10 years old, Gan and his parents moved back to Singapore.
In 2002, Gan turned 18 and officially registered for the NS a few months before his birthday. He was found fit and was scheduled to serve the following year in 2003.
An official enlistment notice telling him to report for enlistment in October 2003 was sent to his registered address on his 18th birthday in September 2002.
While Gan showed up for the fitness assessment in April 2003, he failed to show up for the actual enlistment a few months later.
An enlistment inspector visited his registered address and issued a second enlistment notice, which Gan’s mother, who was home at the time, acknowledged.
But, Gan again failed to report for enlistment the next day. Instead, he left Singapore in May 2003 without a valid exit permit, returning only three years later in September 2006.
An exit permit is necessary only for males who are found to be fit for NS.
According to the Ministry of Defence, those over 16 who travel and remain overseas without applying for an exit permit could receive a fine of up to $10,000, a prison sentence of up to three years, or both.
Never Enjoyed the Benefits of a Singapore Passport
On 29 September 2006, Gan automatically lost his Singapore citizenship when he did not renounce his US citizenship.
To retain his Singapore citizenship, Gan would have had to take the oath of renunciation, allegiance and loyalty within 12 months of turning 21.
According to his lawyer, Mr Quah, Gan was also never issued a Singapore passport and has instead always used his US passport to travel, even when entering Singapore.
In a statement to CNA, he emphasized that his client has “never enjoyed the benefits of a Singapore passport”.
“Mr Gan did not leave Singapore to avoid serving his NS obligations, neglecting his duty while pursuing his own interests. Rather, he left Singapore for the US, where he was a citizen since birth,” said Mr Quah.
Mr Quah also added that Gan was not purposefully avoiding the authorities but instead wrongly believed that any NS obligations he had were no longer valid after ICA had taken away his Singapore citizenship in 2006.
Since Gan had been entering and exiting Singapore multiple times since 2006 with his US passport without any issues, he assumed everything was in order.
Curiously, Mr Quah did note that Gan’s mother had passed away and his brother had received some jail time for similar NS defaulting charges.
But the prosecutor was not convinced, mentioning that Gan was “aware that he had outstanding issues pertaining to his NS obligations but did not report to, or otherwise obtain clarification from the Ministry of Defence on his NS obligations during the abovementioned periods and up until his arrest”.
When speaking to the media on this, MINDEF stated that it takes an equal and firm stand against any offences against the Enlistment Act and that, for the sake of fairness, it cannot allow “Singapore citizens or PRs who are overseas to evade NS or to choose when they want to serve NS” as it would undermine the institution of NS.
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