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SINGAPORE: The prosecution on Tuesday (Apr 28) sought the maximum possible jail term for a man with both Singaporean and Indonesian citizenship who failed to report for National Service (NS).<\/p>\n
The defence, on the other hand, sought only a fine, saying that the prosecution’s request for a jail term “disrespects this Indonesian citizen’s desire to keep his Indonesian citizenship” and “disrespects Indonesia as well”.<\/p>\n
Edmond Yao Zhi Hai, a 47-year-old Singaporean, had claimed trial to a single charge of failing to report for enlistment into full-time NS in January 1997.<\/p>\n
It is believed to be the first such trial for National Service evasion.<\/p>\n
Yao was born in 1978 in Singapore to a Singaporean mother and an Indonesian father. His father obtained Indonesian citizenship for him and an Indonesian passport was issued to him.<\/p>\n
In 1986, Yao’s mother made a deed poll stating that Yao was a minor and a citizen of Singapore. He received a national registration identity card in 1990 and studied in Singapore between 1984 and 1996 at Catholic High School, Raffles Institution and Raffles Junior College.<\/p>\n
During the trial, the defence argued that Yao’s Indonesian citizenship led him to believe that he was bound by law not to enlist for NS in Singapore, since Indonesian law forbids citizens from entering foreign military service.<\/p>\n
If he had served NS in Singapore, he would have lost his Indonesian citizenship, the defence added.<\/p>\n
Yao was convicted at the close of the trial, with the judge saying that Yao and his mother would have been fully aware that Yao had to serve NS notwithstanding his Indonesian citizenship.<\/p>\n
District Judge James Elisha Lee rejected the argument that Yao was labouring under a mistake of fact that he had been regarded as an Indonesian foreigner by Singapore.<\/p>\n
He also said that Yao cannot “by any stretch” be considered to have acted in good faith, since he had been informed of his NS liabilities from the outset by the Ministry of Defence’s Central Manpower Base (CMPB).<\/p>\n
The judge found that the offence of failing to report for enlistment into full-time NS was a strict liability offence. This means that the prosecution needs only to prove that the act was done, and need not prove the intention.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Yao first pleaded guilty to outstanding charges under the Immigration Act, before both sides argued on the overall sentence.<\/p>\n
Deputy Public Prosecutor Tay Jia En sought the maximum of three years’ jail for the Enlistment Act charge and S$3,000 (US$3,830) for the immigration offences.<\/p>\n
He argued that the “meat” of the defence’s submissions rested on Yao acting in good faith, which the judge had already rejected. The factual premises for the submissions, therefore, must fail, Mr Tay said.<\/p>\n
Yao was represented by Mr Sunil Sudheesan and Ms Joyce Khoo from law firm Quahe Woo & Palmer.<\/p>\n
Mr Sudheesan said that the prosecution’s “prayer” for a jail sentence “totally disrespects” this Indonesian citizen’s desire to keep his Indonesian citizenship and, by extension, “disrespects Indonesia as well”.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that NS is “obviously” critical for pure Singapore citizens, but this was a very unique situation where an individual was born both Singaporean and Indonesian.<\/p>\n
Mr Sudheesan argued that both the Ministry of Defence and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority knew about the situation, and that “a modicum of diligence” was all they needed to take action against Yao, but “they did not do so” earlier.<\/p>\n
He said that CMPB never once wrote to Yao after 1997, although he agreed that his client did contribute to the lack of enforcement by not going to CMPB.<\/p>\n
“But you cannot say he was being evasive,” Mr Sudheesan added. “You cannot say he was trying to hide. You can only say that his behaviour was upfront. He travelled in and out of Singapore, he used his Indonesian passport, and he explained when he was asked.”<\/p>\n
The defence lawyer also argued that specific deterrence in this case is “a non-issue” because Yao cannot serve NS anymore due to his age.<\/p>\n
As for general deterrence, he asked: “Who are the like-minded offenders we’re talking about? Who before the courts have come with a dual nationality, the burden of losing an Indonesian citizenship he was born with? No one. This case stands on its own.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“What was he to do? If (he) served, (he would) lose his Indonesian citizenship.<\/strong> How is that fair to him?”<\/p>\n In response, the prosecution said that the defence was pitching its case “too high”, because it cannot be the case that when the prosecution chooses to proceed against a citizen from another jurisdiction, it was disrespecting their laws by doing so.<\/p>\n “We are dealing with Singapore law, of which the accused is a Singapore citizen, and he is rightfully prosecuted for his infringement of that law,” Mr Tay said.<\/p>\n That Yao was a dual citizen was “irrelevant” because it was not a mitigating or extenuating factor, he added.<\/p>\n Mr Tay also said that this was the “most serious of serious cases we have seen” with the accused “raising matters designed to drag government agencies through the dirt” and there was “not one ounce of remorse from the accused”.<\/p>\n “The maximum sentence is necessary. That is all,” Mr Tay asserted.<\/p>\n Judge Lee said that he needed time to consider the submissions and adjourned the sentencing to May.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n