SINGAPORE: A Chinese national has been given a fine of S$9,000. He has also lost the permanent residency he was given over a decade ago.
Twenty-three-year-old You Jiahao left Singapore during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and studied in China. On Thursday (June 25), he pleaded guilty to remaining outside Singapore without a valid exit permit, with two additional charges taken into consideration.
You became a permanent resident of Singapore in early 2014, when he was 11 years old. He went on to study at Outram Secondary School.
According to reporting from CNA, he was sent an exit permit information letter in 2016, saying that from the day he turned 13 that May, he would be subject to regulations under the Enlistment Act.
You left Singapore in August 2020. By April 2021, however, he was sent a notice telling him he needed to complete his registration for National Service.
After he failed to do so and the authorities learned he had left the country, a police gazette was raised against You in August of that year.
The following July, he emailed the Central Manpower Base (CMPB) as he needed help with renewing his re-entry permit to Singapore. In his email, he asked if he could defer his NS until he finished his studies in China.
CMPB asked him to return to the city-state, saying that because he had failed to register for NS and stayed outside Singapore without an exit permit, he had already committed offences.
The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said that because he failed to renew his re-entry permit, You’s permanent residency status was revoked on August 1, 2022.
When he returned to Singapore on March 27, 2025, he was arrested at Changi Airport, as he had been outside the city-state for nearly two years without a valid exit permit.
“The culpability of NS defaulters lies in the unfair advantage that they gain over their law-abiding peers by being able to pursue their personal goals (such as education or career advancements) while their peers were serving their NS obligations,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Vishnu Menon, who had asked for a fine of at least $9,000 for You.
He has since paid the fine in full and acknowledged his wrongdoings, although he stated that he had not intended to evade NS but thought he could serve it after his studies were completed.
Nevertheless, he added that he came back to Singapore to deal with his errors. /TISG
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