Q&A: Amos Yee, NS, enlistment and the SAF

Hello! I know some of you have said I should stop giving Amos Yee even more publicity by talking about him on my blog, but I just had to address an issue here which has cropped up in social media. I am surprised that some Singaporeans are getting the wrong impression about Amos Yee's NS obligations. I can only speculate that these may be female Singaporeans who don't understand how the system works, so I have compiled a quick Q&A on this issue.

Q: If Amos is sent to jail, will a criminal need to serve NS? 

A: Yes, he would still need to serve NS regardless of what sentence he is handed on the 2nd June. National service is obligatory regardless of circumstances and that includes Singaporean men who have a criminal record.

Q: So are there dangerous ex-criminals serving NS? 

A: Yes. During my NS, I had a man in my unit who was an ex-convict for quite a serious crime - he had beat up a man in a fight and nearly killed him. He had spent quite a few years in jail before enlistment and had all these tattoos - he looked like a gangster and I kept my distance from him. I don't think that he was a danger to anyone, he has spent his time in jail and probably has no desire to return there but we were all just a bit afraid of him. It is the responsibility of the officers in charge to monitor all personnel in the unit - not just ex-criminals but those who are potential trouble makers as well. It is a challenge of course for the SAF to manage this situation. I have seen my fair share of men who have done horrible things during NS and were sent to DB (detention barracks - the SAF jail) during my time in NS.

However, given that most Singaporean men are conscripted around the age of 18 (and slightly older for poly students), Singaporean youths who commit crimes before they turn 17 are dealt with by the juvenile courts and those who commit offences age 17 and older can be treated as adults. Those who go through the juvenile court usually face much lighter sentences  such as committing the offender to the care of a relative or other fit person, community service orders, probation orders, detention and reformative training. Given how low the crime rate is in Singapore, such teenage criminals are rare but they do exist. In any case, the SAF doesn't pick the smartest, fittest, bravest and best men to serve NS - even if you are stupid, obese, cowardly and utterly useless, you will still have to serve NS. Having a criminal record doesn't excuse you from NS.

Q: Would you put someone like Amos Yee in charge of any kind of important weapons? What if he goes mad and does something crazy? I won't trust him with a loaded rifle, just in case he goes on a shooting spree. 

A: There is no way Amos Yee would be put in charge of anything vital during his NS lah, get real. You would need to be an officer to have any real responsibility and given that Amos has no formal qualifications beyond O levels, he cannot be an officer. Besides, this is the famous Amos Yee we are talking about. Amos would probably be put in a fairly harmless vocation where he can't do any harm - the officers at the SAF are not daft lah. Get real, please.

Q: He is turning 17 this year and not in education - why isn't Amos enlisted already then? 

A: Simple. The age for enlistment is 18. He would be conscripted in the year he turns 18 - which would be 2016, not 2015. He could volunteer for early enlistment after his 16th birthday, but that would require the consent of his parents. I have met people who have taken this route, they get NS over and done with so they can get on with the rest of their lives after ORD. His parents could suggest early enlistment to Amos, but I suspect they are desperately trying to persuade him to resume some kind of full time studies (which will probably be the right thing for him at this stage), in the meantime, there is no obligation on the state to conscript him this year.

Q: Will Amos be declared insane and given PES F, effectively excusing him from NS? 

A: There is no way he would be declared insane. Much of that is tied into the sentencing on the 2nd June, if Amos was indeed clinically insane, then the case against him would have been dismissed on that basis and he would be given medical treatment. Instead, the judge found him guilty of the crimes he was accused of - that means that neither the prosecution or the defence tried to use the 'insanity' plea and thus by default making Amos sane and fit to stand trial for the charges he was accused of.  Even if he were to try to downgrade on the basis of a mental illness when he enlists, the MO would refer back to the judge who found him sane and fit to stand trial and that makes it hard for Amos to claim that he is clinically insane or mentally unfit to serve NS. Besides, the label "insane" would be a blow to Amos' ego as many people would be too happy to just dismiss his acts as the ravings of a lunatic: Amos wants people to take him seriously and listen to what he has to say, so he wouldn't want to be known as the lunatic who's too mad for NS.

Q: Someone like Amos will try to chaogeng and try to get out of NS lah, right? 

A: I'll like to see him try because he just won't succeed under the current circumstances. Given his very high profile, Amos' medical examination would be extremely thorough and the SAF would not just downgrade people because they get a letter from an external doctor. If Amos does have a genuine medical condition that would warrant a downgrade, then I'm sure the doctors will deal with it appropriately. But it would be almost impossible for Amos Yee to cheat the system when he has such a high profile - I wouldn't accuse him of anything as yet since he hasn't enlisted.

Q: What if he declares 302? Will that get him out of NS? 

A; Declaring 302 means telling the SAF that you are gay - by his own admission, Amos is not gay. And even if he was, gays still need to serve national service and informing the SAF that you're gay may get you a downgrade or it may not, but you can read more about it on this website here. Certainly, declaring 302 is not a "get out of jail free" card.

Q: But surely he will kena bully like mad in NS right? I have heard about those 'blanket parties'...

A: Not necessarily - blanket parties are a myth, anyone caught beating up Amos would have to face the consequences of his actions, the same way that 49 year old vigilante who slapped Amos did. Then again, yes I have witnessed people getting beaten up in NS before and the bullies getting away with it. I think it will be a challenging experience for him of course, he will be lonely, isolated and those around him will probably keep their distance after it is clear that Amos wouldn't hesitate to slander someone he doesn't like. The army is all about following orders, working as a unit, co-operating with your fellow soldiers to get the job done and Amos will really struggle with that aspect: it means having to work with people you may really dislike, but you will have no choice about the people you have to work with. And if Amos has the audacity to disobey orders, then there will be hell to pay.

Q: What do you mean 'hell to pay'? 

A: Amos is not going to get any special privileges - nobody gets to defy orders in the SAF, the smart thing to do is to keep your head down, keep a low profile and avoid getting noticed. Defying orders, questioning your officers when they ask you to do something will lead to punishments: they can deny you privileges like booking out for weekends, or they can make you do extra guard duties or other unpleasant tasks. If this persists, then you could even end up being sent to detention barracks for insubordination. It would be very foolish to try to push one's luck with the SAF's system because you will lose at the end of the day. How bad NS will be for Amos will depend ultimately on Amos - I am not saying that it will be a holiday camp with loads of fun and games, it's extremely difficult and challenging for most of us who have done it, but Amos can choose to make it so much more difficult for himself if he chooses to be rebellious.

Q: What if Amos refused to serve NS? 

A: Then he will be treated like those Jehovah's Witnesses who refuse to serve NS. As of 2008, there were 23 members of Jehovah's Witnesses incarcerated in the armed forces detention barracks for refusal to carry out mandatory military service. The initial sentence for failure to comply is 15 months' imprisonment, with an additional 24 months for a second refusal. All of the Jehovah's Witnesses in detention were incarcerated for failing to perform their initial military obligations and expect to serve a total of 39 months. Failure to perform annual military reserve duty, which is required of all those who have completed their initial 2-year obligation, results in a 40-day sentence, with a 12-month sentence after four refusals. As there is no alternative civilian service for Jehovah's Witnesses, it would be quite unwise to refuse to serve NS. Just do it lah, it is only 2 years long.

Q: Do you think that the officers will be out to 'tekan' Amos or will they be so afraid of being accused of molesting Amos? 

A: Firstly, I don't think that Amos would cry wolf twice and even if he did, no one is likely to believe him the second time around after what he did to Vincent Law. That means that even if something horrible did actually happen to Amos during NS, then most people are going to be "yeah right, as if" when he goes public and makes a report. That is the price you pay for crying wolf. If as for Amos' future officers, I have this piece of advice: make sure that you are never alone in the same room as him - always have a witness or two so that if Amos tried to make any allegation, you could turn around and say that you had these other witnesses in the room at the same time. Vincent Law probably was alone with Amos a lot during their counselling sessions - that was not a wise move in hindsight. And as for the issue of being 'tekan', let's see: it really depends a lot on your luck just what kind of people you end up working with in NS.

Q: Do you think that NS will reform Amos? 

A: It depends. No two Singaporean men have a similar NS experience, some men have it better, some men have it worse. Some men actually enjoyed it, whilst some others dreaded every moment. Some found it a life changing experience, whilst others were just counting down the days to their ORD. So much of that depends on what vocation you are assigned, what kind of people you end up working with and whether you are able to make any good friends during your time in NS. Now the two key factors determining the outcome are: your ability to adapt to new environments and sheer luck. Now I am somewhat skeptical of Amos being able to adapt readily to the environment that NS will present, but who knows, maybe he will and he is going to need all the good luck he can get. I don't have a crystal ball, so I can't predict that. But yeah such an experience will definitely change him - but will it reform him? I don't think so, After all, two years is not that long a long time.

Q: Why do so many people think that Amos could avoid NS as a result of going to jail?

A: You will be amazed how many people read these half-truths and speculations on the internet without even bothering to check if what they read is true or not. That's the problem with going to forums like HWZ EDMW, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against people who enjoy that kind of interaction: but do take what you read with a pinch of salt and if in doubt, always verify what you have read with someone who has the answers. Please don't be so gullible and believe any crap you read online, the person who is spouting it may either be speculating or totally clueless.

So that's it from me on this issue - I can't believe I actually had to write a post about this issue as I had assumed that people knew that Amos Yee was going to have to serve NS one way or another, but ah well, I am glad to have been able to provide some useful information about the wider issue here. If you have any other questions or have any thoughts on the issue of Amos doing NS, please feel free to leave a comment below. Many thanks for reading.