Footballer Ben Davis has defaulted on his national service commitments, the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said in a statement yesterday.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, Mindef said: "Mr Benjamin Davis is an NS defaulter. He failed to report for NS as required. He is also staying overseas without a valid exit permit.
"Mr Davis has committed offences under the Enlistment Act, and is liable upon conviction to a fine of up to $10,000 and/or imprisonment of up to three years."
ST understands that Davis was required to enlist last Thursday.
His father Harvey Davis did not reply when asked to respond to the Mindef statement.
However, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) expressed its dismay at the news and issued a strongly worded admonition of the player, whom it capped at the Under-19 level. Davis was also called up to the senior national team last year but was not fielded.
A spokesman said: "The FAS is extremely disappointed with Mr Benjamin Davis' default of his NS obligations. It is thoroughly irresponsible on the part of Mr Davis, and also reneges on his (and his father's) assurance to the FAS that Mr Davis would discharge his NS commitments and play for the Singapore national team."
The spokesman added that the association had supported Davis' application to defer his NS, on the basis that he had agreed to play for the national team, and had benefited from the resources used to educate and train him. "While the matter will now be dealt with by Mindef, the FAS wishes to state categorically that we do not condone such conduct nor did it ever arise in our discussions with Mr Davis that he would seek to avoid his liability," said the spokesman.
A former student at the Singapore Sports School, Davis, 18, moved to London in 2016 to join English Premier League (EPL) club Fulham's academy, where he is registered as an English national.
He was born in Thailand to an English father and a Thai mother.
The Phuket-born player signed professional terms with Fulham last July, becoming the first Singaporean footballer to do so with a top-tier English club.
After he signed, Mindef confirmed that his application for NS deferment had been rejected as he did not "meet the criteria for long-term deferment from full-time NS".
Â
Â
Â
The decision sparked a debate among the sporting fraternity and the general public about issues such as maximising sporting talent and the need to maintain Singapore's security.
In August last year, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen laid out the reasons for the rejection in Parliament, highlighting that "there was no commitment to serve Singapore and our national interests" despite Mr Harvey Davis' contention that if his son were to become the first Singaporean to play in the EPL, it would "make Singapore proud".
Dr Ng reiterated that "deferment... cannot be for that individual, no matter how talented, to pursue his own interests or career, even if it vicariously brings credit or fame to Singapore".
He also noted that Mr Harvey Davis had "consistently refused" to pin down a date for his son to return to serve NS. Mindef has also noted that there are programmes in place to help national athletes continue training while serving NS.
In the last 15 years, only three athletes - swimmers Joseph Schooling and Quah Zheng Wen, and sailor Maximillian Soh - have been granted long-term deferment.
Schooling and Quah have represented the Republic at various Olympics, with the former making history by winning gold in the 100m butterfly at the 2016 Rio Games.
Davis enjoyed a strong start in his first season with the Fulham Under-18 team - he scored once in 10 games, making 13 tackles and 16 interceptions while racking up a pass accuracy of 90 per cent - but ST understands he has found the going tougher in his sophomore season.
A source, who did not want to be named, said that Davis' performance was adversely affected after news emerged that his application for NS deferment had been rejected.
While he started 12 of Fulham Under-18s' first 14 matches of the season, he has played only 136 out of a possible 630 minutes in their last seven games. He also earned the call-up to the Under-21 team for four games, but was an unused substitute on each of those occasions.
Fulham did not reply to ST's queries by press time.Â
Based on a sentencing framework introduced by the High Court in July 2017, there are four bands of sentencing based on the length of the period of default:
- For those who evade NS for two to six years, the starting point is two to four months' jail
- For seven to 10 years, the starting point is five to eight months' jail
- For 11 to 16 years, the starting point is 14 to 22 months' jail
- For 17 to 23 years or more, the starting point is two to three years' jail.Â
NS defaulters who are under the age of 40 are still required to serve if they return.
A defaulter's sentence may be discounted based on various factors, such as the length of period of default, how substantial his connection to Singapore is, whether he voluntarily surrendered or was arrested, and whether he pleaded guilty or claimed trial.
Correction note: This article has been updated to reflect the four-band sentencing based on the length of the period of NS default.
FIFA Says in Regular Contact With AFC Over Detained Bahraini Player The Australian soccer players' union this week called on the AFC to intervene to help secure the release of Hakeem Al Araibi, who plays in Australia but was arrested in November in Bangkok on an Interpol notice issued at Bahrain's request.
FIFA says in regular contact with AFC over detained Bahraini
Report Ad
Our Football Frames Make One-of-a-Kind Gifts! Shop Our Extensive Selection Of Football Frames
Paine delighted with Aussie grit in second Test victory
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's winning start as Manchester United's caretaker manager ended with a 2-2 draw at home to Burnley, but his team escaped from defeat in spirited fashion with Goals from Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood had given Burnley a 2-0 lead before a late assault from United with a penalty from Paul Pogba in the 87th
Solskjaer lavishes praise on De Gea after United maintain
'Once levels fall below 500 pg/ml (picograms per millilitre — the normal range being 500 to 1,000), the brain starts to deteriorate at twice the usual rate, making memory loss six times more
Barcelona's defence were completely caught out by Divock Origi's winner as Liverpool went through 4-3 on aggregate Barcelona striker Luis Suarez said his side "looked like schoolboys" for
Luis Suarez says Barcelona 'looked like schoolboys' defending
Welcome to r/SingaporeRaw Community. Public speech in Singapore is heavily regulated. r/SingaporeRaw is a safe haven for Redditporeans to share
Former FAS General Secretary, Winston Lee withdraws candidacy
Hougang United Football Club, one of nine clubs in the professional football league, has filed a police report against an employee after losing S$278,200 from its coffers. ADVERTISING A female administrative staff member, Tean Tai Tee, allegedly misappropriated the sales revenue from the clubhouse between Nov 29 and Dec 11 last year.
tiagong, this female employee hoot Hong Gan United Football
Even when everything is in flux — when a bright, young Ajax team can go to Turin and beat wily old Juventus, when Cristiano Ronaldo can miss out on the Champions League semifinals, when guards seem to be changing and eras ending — a 3-0 second-leg quarterfinal victory over Manchester United featured soccer's one great, enduring constant: Messi beaming, Barcelona winning, opponents left
Messi's genius is enough for Barcelona to win the Champions
Ronaldo avoids jail but hit by hefty fine for tax fraud in Spain (UPDATED) The court sentences Cristiano Ronaldo to a two-year jail sentence that it immediately reduces to a fine of 365,000 euros
Ronaldo fined €18.8m over tax evasion - BBC News
Clarification of rules pertaining to electronic equipment permitted in the bench area 2015-16 and 2016-17 Basketball Rules Changes Court Safety Reminder (Posted 11/3/14)
Sport Law Chapter 9 Flashcards | Quizlet
May 19, 2019 · Vincent Kompany left a victorious Manchester City dressing room at Wembley for the fifth and final time knowing that his secret would be out soon enough. "Family commitments," was the line
Vincent Kompany - Wikipedia
0 comments:
Post a Comment