WE THANK Mr Lee Yong Se for his letter ("Penalties for PRs who don't fulfil NS duty lack bite"; Monday).
Male permanent residents (PRs), like male Singapore citizens, aged 13 and above are required to apply for an exit permit if they wish to remain overseas for three months or longer. They are also required to furnish a bond if they remain overseas for two years or more.
For those above 161/2 years old, a bond is required if they remain overseas for three months or more.
The bond is in the form of a Banker's Guarantee of $75,000 or an amount equivalent to 50 per cent of the combined annual gross income of their parents, whichever is higher.
Male PRs and citizens who leave Singapore before enlistment and fail to register or enlist for national service will have their bond forfeited. They would have committed an offence under the Enlistment Act, and will be liable to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or both.
Former PRs who have not served their NS will face serious adverse consequences when they subsequently apply to study or work in Singapore.
In addition, any immediate or future applications for renewal of re-entry permits made by their parents and family members who are PRs may be adversely affected.
Penalties for PRs who don't fulfil NS duty lack bite
DEFENCE Minister Ng Eng Hen revealed in Parliament last week that over the past five years, about 7,200 second-generation permanent residents (PRs) who were liable for national service fulfilled their obligations, while about 2,600 of such eligible PRs renounced their PR status, prior to serving NS ("PRs who fulfilled NS obligations"; last Tuesday).
In recent years, there has been much angst towards second-generation PRs who choose not to bear their national service responsibility after benefiting from our system.
These PRs who renounced their PR status prior to serving NS already planned never to come back to Singapore to study or work, since they are aware they "will face serious adverse consequences when they subsequently apply to study or work in Singapore", as stated by the Defence Ministry.
This shows that the current penalties are not severe enough to serve as a deterrent to these people, as we still see a number of such cases annually.
For male citizens above 161/2 years of age who have not enlisted for NS, their parents need to furnish a bond in the form of a banker's guarantee of $75,000, or 50 per cent of the combined annual gross income of both parents for the preceding year, if their son remains overseas for a period.
If that is the case, shouldn't the Government impose similar measures for the parents of male PRs as well? As a matter of fairness and for our country's security, the Government must review the existing policies to make the parents of male PRs liable if their sons do not fulfil their NS obligations.
Lee Yong Se
ST Forum, 14 Jul 2014
ST Forum, 14 Jul 2014
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