Singaporean with Indonesian citizenship gets maximum jail sentence of 3 years for evading National Service for almost 22 years

SINGAPORE: A Singaporean man who also held Indonesian citizenship has been handed the maximum three-year jail sentence for avoiding National Service (NS) for almost 22 years, in what is now the harshest punishment imposed in a Singapore NS default case.

The 47-year-old Edmond Yao Zhi Hai was sentenced on May 26 after the court found that he had failed to serve both his full-time NS duties and later reservist obligations for more than two decades. District Judge James Elisha Lee said Yao’s conduct fell into the “worst category” of NS defaulters because he had effectively skipped the entire system from start to finish.

The court also fined him S$3,000 for immigration offences after he failed to present his Singapore passport to immigration officers when entering Singapore, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported.

NS remains one of Singapore’s most politically and socially sensitive obligations. The country’s conscription system is a shared duty that cuts across race, income, and social status. Many Singaporean men spend years serving and returning for reservist training.

The court rejected his claim that he believed Indonesian law excused him from NS

Yao contested the enlistment charge in court, arguing that he believed Indonesian law prevented him from serving in a foreign military. The judge rejected that explanation.

Judge Lee said Yao had been informed of his NS obligations by the Central Manpower Base (CMPB) from the beginning and couldn’t reasonably claim he acted in good faith.

The defence argued that Yao had entered and left Singapore for years without being arrested, suggesting delays by the authorities. The judge disagreed. He said Yao had used an Indonesian passport while travelling and had “clearly contributed” to avoiding detection. The court found no improper delay in prosecution. Yao, currently on bail, plans to appeal both his conviction and sentence.

He left Singapore before NS enlistment

Court documents showed Yao was born in Singapore in 1978 to a Singaporean mother and Indonesian father. He studied at well-known schools, including Raffles Institution and Raffles Junior College, before failing to report for enlistment in January 1997.

He later continued his studies overseas and tried to renounce his Singapore citizenship in 2003 through the Singapore embassy in Indonesia. However, the Ministry of Defence didn’t approve the renunciation because of his NS liabilities.

In 2005, he married a Singaporean woman and later applied for permanent residency in Singapore. The application was rejected because Singapore still regarded him as a citizen. He continued travelling to and from Singapore until September 2021, when he was arrested while trying to extend his short-term visit pass.

NS evasion through the lens of fairness to others who have completed the obligation

Singapore courts have consistently treated NS default cases seriously, but this case pushes sentencing into new territory because of the length of the default.

The judgment shows that citizenship obligations continue to apply to Singaporeans even when dual nationality, overseas education, or long-term residence abroad is involved. It also shows how Singapore increasingly views NS evasion through the lens of fairness: when one person manages to avoid duties that others have no choice but to complete.

At the same time, the case shows how citizenship laws can become messy when they overlap across countries, especially for children born into dual-nationality situations. Still, Singapore’s position on NS has remained firm for decades. Once a male citizen is liable for service, leaving the country or attempting to renounce citizenship later rarely removes that obligation.

A reminder that Singapore treats NS obligations seriously

Cases like this are taken seriously in Singapore because they concern citizenship fairness and identity. And the courts have remained consistent: NS is treated as a national obligation, not a voluntary arrangement people can opt out of later.

For Singaporeans who have served before, the sentence reinforces a long-standing social contract. For others with complicated cross-border backgrounds, it is another reminder that Singapore citizenship duties can follow a person for decades, even after they leave the country.

Read related: Rare National Service evasion case: Prosecutors push for maximum jail term for Singaporean over dual citizenship dispute