A cross-dressing Singaporean who “has been living as a woman for the past 10 years” has been granted sanctuary in Britain to protect him from having to do reservist training in Singapore.
Britain’s The Guardian reported on Wednesday (April 27) that two judges have ruled that “she” should not be forcibly returned to Singapore, where he would be required to do two weeks of reservist training each year “for the next eight years”.
The 33-year-old man, who was not named “for legal reasons”, went to Britain in September 2004 as a student.
His previous bids to remain in Britain for the same reason were unsuccessful, and he was allowed to remain in the country until October 2012 to complete his studies.
But his case was heard in the first tier of Britain’s immigration tribunal in November, The Guardian reported. The judge then, referring to the man as a “her”, said that requiring the man to “hide her gender and live as a man, even for two weeks a year, would be wholly unreasonable”.
Britain’s Home Office appealed against that judgment, but the appeal was rejected this week.
According to The Guardian report, Britain’s Home Office had accepted the man as a woman, and the gender on her Home Office ID card is female.
The man had completed National Service in Singapore between December 2001 and June 2004, and has said that he “felt uncomfortable serving with men”.
It was reported in The Straits Times in 2014 that the man who considers himself a “transgender lesbian” cannot change his gender to female under Singapore law as he had not undergone sex-change surgery. He also does not have any intention to undergo surgery.
The Straits Times said in a report today (April 29) that if repatriated, the man would be required to serve in-camp training of about two weeks a year until 2023, or face up to three years in prison and a fine of $10,000.
sinsh@sph.com.sg
