Remington Fhang Lim, 28, pleaded guilty to one charge under the Enlistment Act. Lim was sentenced to four months jail for defaulting on his NS obligations and for remaining outside of Singapore without a valid exit permit for more than eight years.
When he learned in 2016 that he needed to serve NS, he voluntarily returned and completed it in 2017. He only realised that he failed to fulfil his obligations only when he tried to renounce his Singapore citizenship. It was said that his father was Malaysian and mother was from Trinidad and Tobago. The family are currently Australian citizens.
In mitigation, Lim’s lawyer, Mr Quah, sought the maximum fine of S$10,000 for Lim, saying he had not deliberately chosen to ignore his NS obligations and did not know of his personal liability to serve NS till 2016.
He returned to serve NS in the Singapore Civil Defence Force and lived in a church during that time, as he has no relatives or ties here.
In mitigation, Lim’s lawyer, Mr Quah, sought the maximum fine of S$10,000 for Lim, saying he had not deliberately chosen to ignore his NS obligations and did not know of his personal liability to serve NS till 2016.
At the time, he had been working for two years after graduating and was about to get married.
He nevertheless returned to serve NS in the Singapore Civil Defence Force and lived in a church during that time, as he has no relatives or ties here. That was where he met Mr Quah.
While sentencing Lim, District Judge Ong Luan Tze told him it was “commendable” that he had returned but that the higher courts have “explicitly stated that claims of a lack of knowledge are not a lawful excuse”.