Nine weeks’ jail for Singapore National Service defaulter who grew up in Hong Kong
- The city state’s defence ministry said Jonathan Lee Han Wen ‘wilfully remained overseas’ to pursue his studies
- While he received a permit to delay his national service in 2013, he didn’t return to Singapore after it expired
Jonathan Lee Han Wen, who has a Singaporean mother and British father, left Singapore for Hong Kong when he was a month old.
He lived and studied there, as well as in the United Kingdom, until he returned to Singapore for good in September last year and enlisted in NS. He is serving in the Singapore Armed Forces now.
Lee pleaded guilty to four charges under the Enlistment Act and was acquitted of a fifth charge.
He could have been jailed up to three years, fined up to S$10,000 (US$7,362.90), or both, for each charge.
The Ministry of Defence said in a statement that he had “wilfully remained overseas” to pursue his university studies despite being aware of his obligations.
The ministry added: “In doing so, he had gained an unfair advantage vis-à-vis his peers who served dutifully when called upon to do so.