Brian Joseph Chow, 25, who left Singapore to study in Australia as a teenager, was jailed for 1½ months yesterday for evading national service enlistment for more than six years.
The High Court had ruled in favour of the prosecution's appeal against the original sentence of a $4,500 fine. Second Solicitor-General Kwek Mean Luck argued that a fine was inadequate for defaulters who return only after completing their personal goals, and there was a need for a deterrent sentence.
Yesterday, the court said Chow would have been jailed three months but gave him a 11/2-month discount for his exceptional performance during NS, which he served after his voluntary surrender in 2013.
Defaulters with a substantial connection to Singapore enjoyed the benefits of citizenship but had an unfair advantage over their peers, noted Justice Chan Seng Onn.
