30/10/2021
A great interview podcast by the blokes at The Final Whistle.
Wishing all the best with his secured contract @ Wolverhampton Wanderers and his future in the EPL, and may he don Singapore colours one day (although that appears highly unlikely currently).
For the current 'uproar' over his avoidance/evasion of national service, like the blokes at The Final Whistle, we too ask: how would you as a parent choose if your child has a chance no one else has yet, and be a pioneer Singaporean in the EPL?
To let him go or not to let him go? Keeping in mind a club contract (indeed a professional football career) does not make allowances for a national service break - such is the nature of the highest levels of global competitive football.
Is it worth incurring offences under the Enlistment Act? The maximum punishment is a fine of $10000 and a jail term. Pianist Melvyn Tan returned after 28 years and was fined $3000 with no jail term; 24-year-old Brian Joseph Chow evaded NS for 6 years to study in Australia and was imprisoned for 1.5 months; pianist Seow Wei Sin was fined $5000. On the factors mitigating guilt, see the link below).
The Final Whistle: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8VSFpwrsNjQYxSpSI73SuQ
Actual Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ0MydyFYHY
National Service Defaulting, a legal perspective: https://singaporelegaladvice.com/defaulting-on-ns-heres-how-ns-defaulters-will-be-sentenced/
Harry Birtwistle became the first Singapore-born footballer to sign for an English Premier League (EPL) club on Wednesday (27 October), when he penned his fi...
