U.S. citizen, 40, jailed 9 weeks in S'pore for defaulting NS obligations in 2003

A 40-year-old American citizen was sentenced to nine weeks' jail in Singapore on Oct. 7 for defaulting on his national service (NS) obligations when he was asked to report for enlistment.

Garrett Alexander Gan Kok Leng was born in the United States, his lawyer, Danny Quah from CHP Law said.

He was certified a Singapore citizen by descent, and his father was Singaporean.

Gan pleaded guilty to two charges under the Enlistment Act for remaining outside Singapore for a total of three years, three months and 29 days without an exit permit.

Another two charges were taken into consideration.

Failed to report for enlistment

Court documents revealed that Gan turned 16-and-a-half on in 2001 and was subjected to the Enlistment Act.

He registered for National Service in February 2002 and was found fit for service in April 2003.

He failed to report for enlistment on Oct. 20, 2003.

An enlistment inspector visited his Singapore address the same day, and issued an enlistment notice, which Gan's mother acknowledged.

The notice required Gan to report for enlistment the next day, which he failed to do so.

Investigations revealed that Gan had left Singapore on May 31, 2003.

He did not posses a valid exit permit, and remained outside Singapore without permission until Sep. 28, 2006.

On Sep. 29, 2006, Gan lost his Singapore citizenship as he did not renounce his U.S. one and take the oath of renunciation, allegiance and loyalty within 12 months of turning 21.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Timotheus Koh said he "did not voluntarily surrender".

He was arrested at Changi Airport on Jan. 22, 2024.

"He was aware that he had outstanding issues pertaining to his NS obligations but did not report to, or otherwise obtain clarification from the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) on his NS obligations during the abovementioned periods and up until his arrest," Koh said.

"He did not serve his National Service obligations at all," he added.

The prosecution sought a jail term of nine to 10 weeks for Gan, while the defence sought nine weeks.

Spent most of his childhood in the U.S.

The defence said Gan spent the majority of his childhood in the U.S. before moving to Singapore with his parents around June 1994, and only leaving before June 2003.

Gan applied for short term visa passes with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to stay in Singapore and care for his father when he suffered a stroke.

Quah said Gan did not leave Singapore "to avoid serving his NS obligations", but "left Singapore for the U.S. where he was a citizen since birth".

"As Mr Gan was born in the U.S., he possessed a U.S. passport and used his U.S. passport to travel. Each time he entered Singapore, he was treated as a foreigner," said Quah.

Gan believed that his NS obligations were "extinguished" after he had renounced his citizenship in 2006, which was reinforced by the fact that he had entered and exited Singapore multiple times without any issues.

"It was only when he was detained at Changi Airport while he was trying to leave Singapore on Jan. 22, 2024 that he was informed of the enlistment notices served to his address and that he was being investigated for offences committed under the Enlistment Act," the lawyer added.

Gan's mother had also passed away, and his brother was also jailed for similar defaulting offences.

"It's one of those unfortunate situations that seem to have fallen through the cracks," said Quah.

Top photo via MINDEF/Facebook