Kevin Kwan at the premiere of “Crazy Rich Asians”. Source: BBC

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has declared yesterday (28 Aug) that there are no records of Kevin Kwan, author of the best-selling novel “Crazy Rich Asians” which has spurred a film adaptation this year, entering Singapore for the past 18 years.

Speaking to Channel NewsAsia, the Ministry said that the discovery was made based on “known identifiers” such as his name and date of birth.

“As travel records prior to 2000 have been archived on microfilm, it would require a massive manual search through voluminous records to ascertain if he had entered Singapore before 2000,” the Ministry explained.

Mr Kwan, who is now a citizen of the United States of America, is wanted by the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) for allegedly defaulting on his National Service obligations, despite multiple reminders even after his permanent departure from the country.

Speaking to The Straits Times, Mindef noted that “Mr Kevin Kwan had failed to register for National Service (NS) in 1990, despite notices and letters sent to his overseas address”.

“He also stayed overseas without a valid exit permit. Mr Kwan is therefore wanted for defaulting on his NS obligations,” said Mindef.

Mindef noted that “his application and subsequent appeal to renounce his Singapore citizenship without serving NS were rejected” in 1994.

Prior to his emigration to the United States, he was born in Singapore and had lived in the Republic up to the age of 11.

Previously, Mr Kwan was reported as saying in an interview with The Straits Times that he “does not return to Singapore often”.

Should he be found guilty under the Enlistment Act, Mr Kwan is bound to pay a fine of up to $10,000 and/or face imprisonment of up to three years.

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

PMD riders to gather for a peaceful rally at Hong Lim Park this Saturday to voice out against PMD ban

All personal mobility device (PMD) riders, particularly those who are food-delivery riders,…

S’pore Health Sciences Authority approves Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine; first shipment expected by end of December

The Health Sciences Authority of Singapore has approved the COVID-19 vaccine developed…

Ongoing saga with Telecom Credit Cooperative

~ By Leo Khaw ~ The Telecom Credit Cooperative is a non-profit financial institution…

安全宿舍再现病例,检测有漏网之鱼? 陈诗龙称冠病有潜伏期

近期,不少本来已被列为安全的客工宿舍,因出现新的冠病19确诊,再次被列为感染群。这包括:榜鹅S11宿舍、Cassia@Penjuru宿舍、大士南宿舍CDPL和克兰芝第一客工宿舍等。 回溯8月15日,人力部长杨莉明,曾在个人官方脸书发文,宣称客工宿舍已脱离“危机模式”。然而,直至本月5日,她又改口称“被列为安全宿舍,不代表不会再有人感染”。 然而,当所客工宿舍完成检测、被鉴定为安全。目前每日仍平均新增45例客工病例。其中有两巴仙的血清检测呈阳性,这意味着他们早前已受感染。 这是否意味着,目前的聚合酶链式反应(PCR)检测不够敏感? 不过总理公署部长、人力部兼贸工部第二部长陈诗龙,则解释,上述检测是探测人体冠病是否达一定含量,若客工在病毒潜伏期检测,可能病毒含量不足以被探测到。 在本月9日的跨部门记者会,陈诗龙如是反驳PCR检测下有漏网之鱼的说法,也强调上述测试是十分敏感的。但检测只能反映有关测试客工当下的情况,若在潜伏期、病毒含量不足,仍难以发现。 再者,也有部分患者无症状,当下无法被察觉。 当局目前仍每两周一次检测宿舍客工,若出现新增病例,则需封锁整座宿舍,并为所有人检测。而及早发现病例尤为重要,以能采取行动断开传播链。 陈诗龙也表示,迄今政府已成功遏止200座重现病例的宿舍内的疫情传播。而重新病例的数量也较少,约为少过10例。