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SINGAPORE: On Tuesday (February 9), a swimmer of Malay nationality who has permanent residence in Singapore was sentenced to eight weeks in jail for failing to fulfill National Service (NS).
Lim Ching Hwang, who won medals in regional competitions such as the Asian Youth Games, pleaded guilty to two counts under the Enlistment Act, and another count was considered.
The 24-year-old athlete said to mitigate that he was “too focused on swimming” and listened to “bad advice” from his parents to finish his studies abroad before returning to Singapore to fulfill his obligations to NS.
The court heard that Lim came to Singapore in 2010 and studied at the Singapore Sports School until 2013, enjoying subsidized school and training fees.
“The Singapore government subsidized his education and training at Singapore $ 25,000 per year under its overseas sports scholarship scheme,” said Deputy Prosecutor R. Arvindren.
Lim received permanent residence status in Singapore under the Foreign Sports Talent Program in March 2014 and became subject to the requirements of the Enlistment Act. The Singapore Swimming Association had supported his application for permanent residence.
Two days after receiving PR status, Lim reached the enlistment age of 18. You received a registration notice in May 2014 asking you to register with NS.
However, a private entity offered him a scholarship around the same time to pursue university studies in the United States starting in September 2014.
Lim registered for NS in May 2014 and requested a deferral. He was granted a postponement until May 2017 to obtain a diploma at Republic Polytechnic. However, he did not complete his studies in Singapore and left the country in July 2014.
That same month, Lim and his family tried to request the postponement of the NS so that he could pursue university studies, but they did not succeed since the Ministry of Defense (MINDEF) “does not usually grant postponements for university studies,” the court heard.
The Lims were informed about the requirement of a bond for the issuance of an exit permit, but were “unhappy with that policy.” They produced no such bond and instead continued trying to run to postpone Lim’s enlistment in NS in 2014 and 2015.
After authorities in Singapore told Lim’s father in February 2015 that Lim had to reserve a date for a medical examination in preparation for enlistment, Lim’s father said that his son had already started his university studies in the United States. United States and that he would renounce his permanent residence status in Singapore.
Authorities responded to tell Lim’s father to contact the Immigration and Checkpoint Authority if his son wanted to renounce his status.
Lim returned to Singapore on June 2, 2015. He admitted that he complied with the subsequent medical examination because he was concerned that he would not be able to enter Singapore for the 2015 Southeast Asian Games held in the country due to his offenses.
He was medically qualified as eligible for enlistment on July 7, 2015, but left Singapore for the US that same day and continued to try to apply for deferral.
He did not show up to enlist on November 11, 2015, and a police bulletin was issued against him. He finally returned to Singapore on June 11, 2018, after completing his university studies.
He said he wanted to solve his NS offenses because he intends to swim competitively in Singapore and pursue a career in Singapore in the future.
He enlisted in April 2019 and completed his NS on February 2, 2021. On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to two counts of staying outside Singapore without a valid exit permit from July 2014 to June 2015 and from July 2015 until June 2018.
The prosecutor asked for at least two months in jail, noting the duration of Lim’s crimes, as well as his guilty plea and voluntary surrender.
TOO FOCUSED ON SWIMMING: LIM
As mitigation, Lim said he is “deeply sorry” for the actions he committed “as a child”, adding that “he has come back to face the consequences as a man.”
He said he was “too focused on swimming” and couldn’t resist the temptation of a scholarship to study at a prestigious university. He added that he had listened to the bad advice of his parents to finish his studies before returning for NS, and said that he “should have elbowed them more” to get their exit permit in order.
Lim said he was under “mental stress” due to this case and is glad that he was able to complete NS and serve Singapore. He added that he wanted to tell all the boys that it is “beneficial to serve HL” before finishing college, citing “leadership skills young men are exposed to” that cannot be taught in college.
He “strongly encourages (d) young men to wait for NS and to serve him diligently as it is related to Singapore security,” and said that he has decided to be in Singapore.
He was allowed to begin his prison sentence on February 23. For staying outside of Singapore without a valid exit permit, you could have been imprisoned for up to three years, fined up to S $ 10,000 or both.
Lim is the 17th person to be jailed for violating NS since the High Court established a sentencing framework for such crimes in 2017.
In a previous statement, MINDEF said that all Singaporean male citizens and permanent residents have a duty to serve NS and that it is important that NS “has the support and commitment of all Singaporeans.”
“To achieve this, we have to adhere to the fundamental principles of universality and fairness in NS. If we allow Singapore citizens or PRs overseas to bypass NS or choose when they want to serve NS, we do not we are being fair to the The vast majority of our national military who serve their country diligently and the institution of National Societies will be undermined, “MINDEF had said.
