Singaporean who migrated to Australia at 11 jailed 4 months for defaulting NS

SINGAPORE — A 28-year-old Singapore-born man who migrated to Australia at the age of 11 was jailed four months on Wednesday (17 June) after he pleaded guilty to remaining outside Singapore without a valid exit permit between 18 June 2008 and 5 March 2017 – in contravention of the Enlistment Act.

Remington Fhang Lim, who has been an Australian citizen since he turned 17, told the court that he was not aware that Central Manpower Base (CMPB) had directed him to enlist for national service (NS) until four years ago, when his father informed him that he had been called up for NS for the first time.

Lim was enlisted on 3 April 2018 and completed his full-time NS with the Singapore Civil Defence Force in April this year.

Defence said Lim ‘completely in the dark’ about NS obligations

Lim said that he did not choose to defer his enlistment after he completed his university, but had been “completely in the dark” about his NS obligations.

According to his lawyer Danny Quah at the plead guilty mention, his parents had been granted Singapore citizenship a month before Lim was born in Singapore in 1991. His father was a Malaysian by birth, while his mother was born in Trinidad and Tobago.

Both were unfamiliar with the concept of NS, said Quah. According to the prosecution, Lim’s father and mother now hold Australian citizenships. Lim also has two younger sisters.

Lim spent only the first 11 years of his life in Singapore and migrated to Sydney after his Primary School Leaving Examinations in October 2003. He graduated from Sydney’s University of Technology as an engineer, and did not return to Singapore, having no relatives nor ties here.

In 2009, when Lim attained his Australian citizenship, his father received a letter from CMPB informing that Lim was required to enlist for NS in Singapore.

Under the Enlistment Act, all male citizens and Singapore permanent residents must register for NS upon reaching the age of 16-and-a-half years old.

Lim’s father then corresponded with CMPB without notifying his son, said Quah.

“Mr Lim’s father requested that CMPB allow Mr Lim to defer his NS call-up, as Mr Lim was about to sit for his HSC (Higher School Certificate) examinations shortly and Mr Lim’s father did not want this NS issue to distract Mr Lim from his exam preparations,” the lawyer said.

However CMPB eventually declined the request for deferment. Lim was kept in the dark regarding his father’s entire correspondence with CMPB, said Quah.

Lim also did not think he would be liable to NS as he had never considered returning to Singapore, and had integrated into life in Australia.

It was only in 2016 that Lim’s father reminded Lim about his NS obligations and to renounce his Singapore citizenship.

Upon finding out that he was liable to serve NS, Lim decided to leave his job, his fiancee and life in Sydney to fulfil his responsibilities, said the lawyer.

Since then, Lim served his obligations and is staying at a church, which is how Quah himself got to know Lim, the lawyer told the court.

Quah sought the maximum $10,000 fine for Lim.

Lim aware of his NS obligations: Prosecution

The prosecution stated that as a Singapore citizen, Lim applied for and was issued with two Singapore International Passports (SIP) valid at different points in time. When he still lived in Singapore, Lim used his passport to travel to and from Singapore. He last used his SIP on 16 October 2003 to enter Australia.

From his time in Singapore, and from encountering other Singaporeans who had migrated to Australia after he had moved there, Lim was aware that Singaporean males would have to serve NS when they reached about 18 years old, stated Deputy Public Prosecutor Lee Zu Zhao.

On 13 June 2008, a Registration Notice was sent by post via Lim’s parents’ local registered address for him to register for NS online. Despite another reminder, Lim still did not register for NS by 21 July 2008.

A notice was sent via post for Lim to report at CMPB on 26 August 2008, but Lim did not show up. By then, Lim had turned 16-and-a-half years old and was subject to the Enlistment Act.

The address has been rented out and the posts were forwarded by the tenant via the real estate agent to Lim’s Australian address. They were received by Lim’s father, who informed Lim of them.

In December 2008, Lim’s father faxed a letter to CMPB informing that Lim wished to renounce his Singapore citizenship and intended to further his studies in a university in Australia.

CMPB later sent a letter to Lim’s father informing him to provide supporting documents for deferment from NS till 21 years old, pending renunciation of Singapore citizenship. The letter also mentioned the exit-permit (EP) requirements for Lim, and reminded that having a foreign citizenship did not absolve Lim of his NS obligations.

CMPB received a letter from Lim’s father’s dated 16 January 2009 containing the application for deferment and supporting documents. However it then replied that the deferment application was not successful. It also informed that Lim had committed an offence for remaining outside of Singapore without a valid EP.

Despite reminders, Lim still failed to report at CMPB. His father appealed the application for deferment of NS and added that Lim would not be reporting to CMPB as his son would be having High School exams. However the appeal was also not successful, with Lim classified as an NS defaulter.

On 5 May 2016, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) informed CMPB that Lim, then 25, had submitted an application to renounce his Singapore citizenship. His parents had earlier reminded him to renounce his citizenship when he turned 21, but he had prioritised his university studies.

ICA later informed Lim that his renunciation was withheld due to his failure to serve NS.

Lim then called the NS Call Centre to enquire about his NS status and was informed by CMPB a few days later of his offences. After a series of exchanges, with Lim also consulting a lawyer, he reported at CMPB on 7 March 2017.

The prosecution sought at least 20 weeks’ jail for Lim’s offence.

District Judge’s comments

In sentencing Lim, District Judge Ong Luan Tze commended Lim for voluntarily returning to serve NS and to face his charges.

However she stated that she was bounded by the High Court’s decision in sentencing such matters, and that a lack of knowledge was not a “lawful excuse”.

“I’m also not persuaded that the facts of this case are as exceptional as (a precedent case), … I think it best (to reiterate) that high priority be placed on issue of national security in Singapore and principle for general deterrence must be applied with uncompromising force,” she said.

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