On Monday (7 Oct), an American citizen was sentenced to nine weeks’ jail for defaulting on National Service (NS) more than 20 years ago.
40-year-old Garrett Alexander Gan Kok Leng, was born in the US and lived there for majority of his life.
He was never issued a Singapore passport but held a Singapore citizenship because his father was Singaporean.
Gan held both American and Singaporean citizenship until 2006, during which he lost the latter because he did not renounce the former within 12 months of turning 21.
However, he had been required to enlist in 2003, during which he was still a Singapore citizen.
Under Singapore’s Enlistment Act, all male Singapore citizens and PRs have to serve NS.
Gan received his enlistment notice in September 2002 requiring him report for enlistment in October 2003.
However, Gan did not show up as required.
An enlistment inspection officer subsequently conducted a house visit at his registered address and issued an enlistment notice.
Gan’s mother had acknowledged this enlistment notice.
The notice required Gan to report for enlistment the next day, but Gan was once again a no-show.
Source: Facebook
Investigations later revealed that Gan had left the country in May 2003, months before he first received the enlistment notice.
He had remained out of Singapore until September 2006 without a valid exit permit.
Per the Enlistment Act, pre-enlistees and full-time National Servicemen are required to apply for an exit permit if they intend to travel or remain overseas for three months or longer.
Gan was arrested at Changi Airport earlier this year in January as he was exiting Singapore.
He pleaded guilty to two charges of remaining outside Singapore for more than three years without a valid exit permit form under the Enlistment Act.
The prosecution sought nine to 10 weeks of jail on the grounds that Gan failed to seek clarification despite knowledge of his NS obligations.
However, Gan’s lawyer argued that he did not default NS intentionally, but rather was unaware that his NS obligations continued after his citizenship renunciation.
Source: Visit Singapore
Gan’s oblivion was further fueled by the fact that he had entered and exited Singapore multiple times without issues since the renunciation of his citizenship.
“Each time he entered Singapore, he was treated as a foreigner,” the lawyer argued.
When his father suffered a stroke, Gan also applied for short-term visa passes with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to take care of him in Singapore.
In a statement issued regarding NS defaulters, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) emphasised a firm stance against offenses committed under the Enlistment Act.
Since the High Court sentencing framework for NS defaulters was set out in 2017, the total number of defaulters sentenced is now 27, including Gan.
In order to ensure Singaporeans continue to support NS, MINDEF has to uphold universality and equity in NS.
“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,” the statement reads.
Also read: Iswaran to be housed in single-man jail cell, given straw mat & 2 blankets
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Featured image adapted from Canva and HoneyKids.
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