An NS defaulter has been jailed for 7 weeks, after he went AWOL for almost 4 years for serving his National Service. The defaulter, Singaporean Zaley Cheng Xi Xiong, had gone AWOL when he was called up in June 2014 because he was scared of sustaining injuries during NS condition.
Cheng was understood to have a medical condition, although what the condition is was not revealed. He fled to Australia, after bluffing his parents that he was going on holiday in Brunei. He only admitted to his parents that he was running away from NS once he had safely reached Australia. He subsequently obtained his Bachelor's degree, and only returned to Singapore on August 2017, as his father was diagnosed with prostrate cancer.
Cheng is currently, and belatedly, serving his NS with the SAF since January 2018.
