'Crazy Rich Asians' author wanted in Singapore for dodging military service
|Published
WANTED: Singaporean novelist Kevin Kwan. Photo: Vincent Yu/AP WANTED: Singaporean novelist Kevin Kwan. Photo: Vincent Yu/AP
The author of the book " Crazy
Rich Asians", which inspired the Hollywood hit film of the same
title, is wanted in his home country of Singapore for defaulting
on his military service, the defence ministry said on Wednesday.
Kevin Kwan, author of the 2013 book and an executive
producer of the film, was notably absent from the Singapore
premier of the romantic comedy on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Defence said Kwan had failed to register for
National Service (NS) in 1990, despite notices and letters sent
to his overseas address, and he had also stayed overseas without
a valid exit permit.
"Mr Kwan is therefore wanted for defaulting on his NS
obligations," the ministry said in a statement.
He was liable to a fine of up to S$10,000 ($7,315) "and/or
imprisonment of up to 3 years upon conviction", the ministry
said.
Kwan could not be reached for comment.
Singapore has a strict law on national service for all male
citizens and enforces it with few exceptions. It makes it
illegal for men to give up citizenship without having completed
their military service, of about two years.
Kwan left Singapore at age 11, first moving to Texas with
his family, and has lived in the United States since then,
Singapore media said.
His 1994 application to renounce his Singapore citizenship
and a subsequent appeal had been rejected, the ministry said.
Kwan's book and the film directed by Jon M. Chu depict
Singapore as a playground for the super-rich in a story about an
Asian-American woman who goes to the city state to meet her
boyfriend's wealthy family.
Kwan himself comes from a prominent Singapore family.
His great grandfather was a founding director of the
Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation - Singapore's
oldest bank.