SINGAPORE, Feb 9 — Malaysian national swimmer Lim Ching Hwang was sentenced to eight weeks’ jail in a Singapore district court on Tuesday for defaulting on his National Service (NS) obligations in Singapore.

The 2013 Asian Youth Games gold medalist was granted Singapore permanent residency in 2014 under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme.

He turned 18 years old that year but instead of serving NS, left Singapore on a scholarship to study at a university in the United States.

Lim, once regarded as a rising star in Malaysian swimming, evaded his NS obligations for nearly three years, before returning to Singapore in 2018 to serve his conscription.

The 24-year-old Malaysian pleaded guilty to two charges under the Enlistment Act, with another taken into consideration during sentencing.

The conviction makes Lim the 17th defaulter to be jailed since the High Court set out a new sentencing framework in 2017 for those who evade NS.

Addressing the judge from the dock, Lim said he was glad to have been able to complete his service.

"I’m deeply regretful of my actions. I committed them as a boy and now that I am more mature I have come back to face the consequences as a man,” said Lim.

The swimmer, who in 2016 broke his own national record for the men’s 200m individual medley at the Malaysia Games, said he now has a girlfriend and a promising job lined up for him in Singapore.

He also intends to swim competitively for Singapore.

"I was too focused on swimming and couldn’t resist the temptation of a Malaysian scholarship to study at a prestigious university,” he said, adding that he intends to apply for citizenship in Singapore in the near future.

Deferment for university rejected

Lim came to Singapore in 2010 and studied at the Singapore Sports School until 2013 under the Government’s Foreign Sports Scholarship Scheme.

In May 2014, after obtaining PR status here, around the same time he received a notice to register for NS, a Malaysian conglomerate, Sime Darby, offered him a scholarship to pursue university studies in the US.

He registered for NS two days before the deadline, on May 29, and was granted a deferment to pursue a diploma at Republic Polytechnic.

Choosing instead to take up the scholarship, he left Singapore on July 17 and started a business degree at the Ohio State University.

Lim and his parents sought an NS deferment to attend university but was rejected as the Ministry of Defence does not typically grant deferment for university studies, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) R. Arvindren said.

His parents also failed to put up a bond in order to get an exit permit for Lim to leave Singapore.

In February 2015, the authorities told Lim’s father that Lim had to undergo medical screening for his enlistment but his father replied that Lim would be renouncing his PR status since his deferment for university was not granted.

Returned to compete in SEA Games

Lim eventually returned to Singapore in June that year for medical screening as he was worried that he would not be allowed to take part in the 2015 Southeast Asian Games (SEA) here.

He later competed at the games under the Malaysian flag, but left Singapore shortly afterwards to return to the US and continued, unsuccessfully, to apply for deferment.

Lim was notified in August that to report for enlistment on Nov 11 that year but he told the authorities that he wanted to renounce his PR status.

A police gazette was issued against him after he failed to turn up for enlistment.

On June 11, 2018, Lim finally returned to Singapore after completing university.

"He said that he wanted to resolve his NS offences because he intended to swim competitively in Singapore and pursue a career in Singapore in the future,” DPP Arvindren said.

Lim enlisted on April 3, 2019 and completed his NS on Feb 2, 2021.

Encouraged youths to look forward to NS

In court on Tuesday, DPP Arvindren noted the unfair advantage NS defaulters have over their law-abiding peers, even if they complete their service eventually.

Lim, who as recently as 2017 swam for the Malaysian team in the SEA games, said he was glad the case has finally come to an end after the mental stress it has caused him.

He added that with hindsight, he should have nudged his parents more to sort his exit permits instead of listening to their ill-judged advice to finish his studies before serving NS.

From the dock, he sought to urge young men in Singapore to look forward to NS and to serve it diligently given its importance to the country’s security.

"I want to tell all boys that it is beneficial to serve NS before finishing university as the leadership skills that young men are exposed to is nothing a university can teach.”

Lim will begin serving his sentence from Feb 23.

For leaving Singapore without an exit permit under the Enlistment Act, Lim could have been jailed for up to three years or fined up to S$10,000, or punished with both. — TODAY