According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Crazy Rich Asians novelist Kevin Kwan has not entered Singapore since 2000.
Kwan is wanted by the authorities for defaulting on his National Service (NS), having failed to register for it in 1990. He had implied in some interviews with the media that he returned to Singapore on a few occasions.
The ministry told Channel NewsAsia that based on “known identifiers" such as his name and date of birth, there are "no records of him having entered Singapore since 2000, based on his known identifiers (e.g. name and date of birth)”.
Kwan had left Singapore at the age of 11 and migrated to Houston Texas. He is now an American citizen, according to media reports.
However, MHA said it had rejected Kwan's previous attempts to renounce his citizenship, and he is still a Singapore citizen. “Kwan remains a Singapore citizen who is wanted for defaulting on his National Service obligations, and will be arrested if he enters Singapore," according to a spokesperson from MHA.
Kwan could be fined up to S$10,000 and/or jailed up to three years for defaulting NS.