Indian-origin Singaporean jailed for defaulting on national service obligation

Singapore: A 28-year-old Singaporean of Indian origin, who defaulted on his mandatory national service (NS) obligations by staying in India even after the expiry of his permit, is to serve 14 weeks in jail after his appeal against his conviction and sentence was dismissed by a court.

A High Court panel on Wednesday rejected Naresh Kumar Nagesvaran's claim that he did not know he needed an exit permit to remain in India for his studies as his late mother had been handling all the correspondence with the Central Manpower Base (CMPB), an enlistment centre, until late 2018.

The panel comprising Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Justice Tay Yong Kwang and Justice Vincent Hoong upheld the lower court’s decision to sentence Nagesvaran to 14 weeks in jail.

Nagesvaran, who was born in Singapore left for India with his mother and sister in 2004 when he was seven years old. The court was told that his Singaporean father had abandoned the family, reported The Straits Times newspaper.

In 2009, when he turned 13 years old, a notice was sent to his last-known address in Singapore to inform him of his NS liability. It stated that he had to apply for a valid exit permit if he intended to remain overseas for longer than three months.

Nagesvaran subsequently obtained exit permits for two consecutive periods, which allowed him to remain outside of Singapore.

The first, which was valid from January 30, 2010, to January 28, 2012, was applied online.

The second exit permit was applied for over the counter at the CMPB in Singapore on January 3, 2012. This permit was valid from January 29, 2012, to September 30, 2013.

He returned to Singapore on April 7, 2019 – about five and a half years later than he was allowed – and was arrested at the airport.

He started his national service later that year.

He was then charged with failing to return to Singapore by the period stipulated in the second exit permit.

Nagesvaran contended that no one told him when he was 13 years old that he had NS obligations in Singapore, or that he had to obtain a valid exit permit to remain in India.

He claimed that he became aware of his NS obligations only in late 2018.

However, the prosecution presented evidence that Nagesvaran had accompanied his uncle to Central Manpower Base (CMPB) on January 3, 2012, to apply for the second exit permit.

His travel records showed he was in Singapore from December 25, 2011, to January 10, 2012 – the period coincided with his application date.

Nagesvaran insisted that he had remained outside the CMPB premises while his uncle went to the counter.

He also tried to distance himself from a letter that was sent to CMPB on February 18, 2014.

The letter, which was signed with his name, sought an extension of his exit permit. He denied signing the letter and suggested that his name was written in his mother’s handwriting. His mother died in June 2019 after a long battle with cancer.

In convicting him in 2023, district judge Luke Tan ruled that the offence was of strict liability in nature.

A strict liability offence is one where a person would be convicted as long as the prosecution can prove the act was committed, regardless of the person’s intent or knowledge.

This meant the prosecution did not need to show that he was aware that he had to return to Singapore before his exit permit expired.

In any event, the district judge found that Nagesvaran knew of his NS obligations as he had accompanied his uncle to CMPB and that he had signed the letter to the CMPB.

Chief Justice Menon noted that it was incumbent on the defence to present expert evidence to support its claim that the February 18, 2014, letter was signed by someone else.

He added that the defence also did not call Nagesvaran's uncle to testify about the CMPB visit.

In response to queries, a Defence Ministry spokesperson said that since the High Court set out the sentencing framework for NS defaulters in 2017, 29 defaulters, including Nagesvaran, have been sentenced to imprisonment.