54-Year-Old Man Heads Out On Last Day Of Quarantine To Buy Cough Medicine For Mother
To help curb the spread of Coivd-19, it is vital that we take Quarantine Orders (QO) and Stay-Home Notices (SHN) seriously when they’re issued.
A 54-year-old man, however, headed out on the last day of his quarantine to buy food and cough medicine for his mother.
He pleaded guilty to his charges on Wednesday (3 Jun) and was fined $4,500.
Man bought cough medicine for mother who choked while drinking water
According to 8World News, Mr Heng was suspected of being infected with Covid-19 and hence was issued a QO.
The QO required him to stay home from 10-24 Feb at his Marine Drive flat.
On 24 Feb, Heng reportedly left home at around 3.14pm to purchase food, as well as cough medicine for his mother, who had choked while drinking water and was coughing non-stop.
Image from MS News, for illustration purposes only
Around 10 minutes after leaving home, an auxiliary police officer coincidentally came knocking on his door to issue a revised QO for until 25 Feb, but couldn’t find Heng anywhere.
The 54-year-old, who was out at that time, then received a call from the authorities, telling him to head home.
He returned home around 10 minutes later and pleaded his case with the auxiliary officer, who reminded him that it’s illegal to head out under a QO.
The officer then left after issuing the revised QO.
Claimed he wore N95 mask, surveillance footage showed otherwise
During the hearing, Heng also claimed that he was wearing an N95 mask while he was out.
Surveillance camera footage, however, found that to be untrue, reports 8World News.
The prosecution pointed out that Heng should have sought help from his friends, family, or neighbours to buy cough medicine for his mother. He could have also contacted the SCDF by calling 995.
While Heng did not venture far and only was only out for 19 minutes, his behaviour was still “unacceptable”.
His lie about wearing a mask while he was out also aggravated matters.
Heng eventually pleaded guilty and was fined $4,500.
Hope he learns his lesson
While it’s understandable for Heng to do all he can to help with his mother’s cough, safety comes first and he could have endangered others by going outside before his quarantine period was over.
We hope Heng learns his lesson and this incident should serve as a warning for others to take their QO and SHN seriously.
Featured image adapted from Google Maps.
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