Even as the Covid-19 situation in Singapore shows promising signs of improving, measures like that limiting gathering sizes to 5 or less are still in place. Some, however, show less regard for such rules.
On 11 Jun – during Phase 1 of reopening – 2 men who were given keys to a Golden Mile Tower shop unit to check on water leaks reportedly took the opportunity to jio 8 friends over to drink and chat.
All 10 of them were fined on Friday (28 Aug) for breaking Covid-19 regulations.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), the keys were given to Mr Loo and Mr Ngin to check for water leaks. The pairs were hired to conduct renovation works at the unit.
On the day, Mr Loo reportedly invited two of his friends over to the first-floor unit for a drink. He later sent invitations to other friends via a messaging chat group.
Mr Ngin joined the group at around 4pm, reports CNA.
Around 6 hours later, the police received a complaint claiming that there was an “illegal disco pub with sexy ladies” operating at the unit.
Police officers visited the unit later on and found its doors secured.
Mr Loo subsequently answered the door and the police discovered the 9 other guests seated in a small room with beer and soju.
Source
All 10 of them were sentenced on Friday (28 Aug), of which Mr Loo and Mr Ngin received the steepest fines.
The Prosecutor pointed out that Mr Loo was the “most culpable” as he opened the unit for the gathering. He also jio-ed at least 3 of the guests and had taken part in similar gatherings in April, reports CNA.
Hence, he was given the highest fine of $8,000.
Mr Ngin was also given a higher fine of $6,000 as he reportedly made the decision with Mr Loo to order alcohol and did not stop the gathering.
The rest of the guests were fined $4,000 each, reports CNA.
In total, Mr Loo spent nearly 10 hours at the unit while the remaining guests spent 3-6 hours.
The Prosecutor also stated that the gathering would have likely gone on for longer if the police did not intervene.
For flouting Covid-19 regulations, each of them could have faced a steeper fine of $10,000, 6 months in jail, or both.
Even though the Covid-19 outbreak in Singapore is gradually showing promising signs of improvement, we should still take safe-distancing regulations seriously.
Given how infectious the coronavirus is, one wrong step could very easily lead to the formation of a cluster.
We hope the group learns from their transgressions and would not commit similar acts in the future that would put others in the community at risk.
Featured image adapted from Google Maps.
Such poor sportsmanship.
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