SINGAPORE: A man who had deserted his national service post with the Singapore Civil Defence Force in 1992 and left for the United Kingdom returned to Singapore more than 20 years later because of the COVID-19 situation.
Soh Choon Wee, now 50, was sentenced to six-and-a-half years’ jail by a district court on Monday (Jul 24) for three counts of desertion under the Civil Defence Act.
This is believed to be the longest jail term meted out for such an offence. Soh is also too old now to fulfil his NSF obligations.
The court heard that Soh enlisted as a full-time Construction Brigade national serviceman in December 1990.
He was posted to the Construction Brigade Monitoring Unit at Jalan Bahar Camp to continue his NS in October 1992.
Soh did not report for NS duty on Nov 16, 1992. He was arrested by the police at his registered address in March 1993 and instructed to report back to camp about a week later.
However, Soh did not report at camp and did not turn up for his court mention. Instead, he avoided arrest and stayed at a rental flat instead of his official address.
SCDF officers made multiple visits to Soh’s address in March 1993 but could not find him.
According to Soh’s lawyer, he worked part-time as a handyman until 1998, when he left Singapore and went to Malaysia via the causeway.
He then moved to the United Kingdom where he lived and worked in a Chinese restaurant.
In January 2021, 23 years after he had left the country, Soh returned to Singapore.
His mother had advised him to do so, as the COVID-19 situation in the United Kingdom was bad, the court heard.
Defence lawyer Wee Hong Shern also said that Soh returned because he “really missed his family” and his parents were getting old.
Soh was placed on stay-home notice for a few weeks before being arrested by SCDF for desertion from NS.
SENTENCING ARGUMENTS
The prosecution had asked for seven-and-a-half to eight-and-a-half years’ jail for Soh, pointing to a previous conviction for being absent without official leave.
She also highlighted the length of the desertion period, Soh’s evasion of arrest by not living at his registered address, and the fact that his current age prevents him from fulfilling his NSF obligations.
Mr Wee asked instead for four to five years’ jail. He said his client had thought that the authorities had “given him a chance” when he encountered no problems leaving Singapore for Malaysia in 1998.
He worked as a “wash-up crew” member for £150 (S$257) a week in a Chinese restaurant in the UK.
Mr Wee said Soh suffered a stroke that required an operation in March 2021. He also has kidney failure, requiring dialysis treatments three times a week.
The judge noted that Soh had remained crime-free in the period of desertion and returned home voluntarily.
However, he noted that Soh was not only unable to fulfil his NSF obligations, but also his NS ones.
He said he did not find the personal circumstances cited by the defence “compelling”, as they do not amount to a strong mitigating factor.
“NS is vital to the security of Singapore and requires sacrifice from NSmen and their families,” said the judge.