02-12-2021, 09:51 AM
Osmond Chia
PUBLISHED DEC 1, 2021, 6:10 PM SGT
SINGAPORE - After he got married, a Singaporean man stayed in Thailand for close to six years without a valid exit permit to excuse him from duties as an operationally ready national serviceman (NSman).
In December 2020, Joseph Tan Li-Gen, 36, was arrested at the airport when he returned home.
On Wednesday (Dec 1), he was fined $4,500 over one charge of remaining outside the Republic for five years and 10 months without a valid permit.
The judge allowed him to settle the sum in instalments, paying around half upfront and $500 each month till April.
......
When asked by the judge why he left Singapore for so long, Tan said he went to Thailand after he got married and had a child. His mother-in-law was later diagnosed with cancer there.
He added that he ran his own restaurant in Thailand and that he has not served any reservist duties to date.
......
In 2018, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said an average of 350 people defaulted on NS each year over the past decade, having failed to register or enlist, or did not return to the Republic after their exit permit expired.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/c...-singapore
PUBLISHED DEC 1, 2021, 6:10 PM SGT
SINGAPORE - After he got married, a Singaporean man stayed in Thailand for close to six years without a valid exit permit to excuse him from duties as an operationally ready national serviceman (NSman).
In December 2020, Joseph Tan Li-Gen, 36, was arrested at the airport when he returned home.
On Wednesday (Dec 1), he was fined $4,500 over one charge of remaining outside the Republic for five years and 10 months without a valid permit.
The judge allowed him to settle the sum in instalments, paying around half upfront and $500 each month till April.
......
When asked by the judge why he left Singapore for so long, Tan said he went to Thailand after he got married and had a child. His mother-in-law was later diagnosed with cancer there.
He added that he ran his own restaurant in Thailand and that he has not served any reservist duties to date.
......
In 2018, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said an average of 350 people defaulted on NS each year over the past decade, having failed to register or enlist, or did not return to the Republic after their exit permit expired.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/c...-singapore