Since March when Stay-Home Notices (SHN) were first issued, there has been a fair share of people who have been fined and jailed for flouting such regulations.
On Wednesday (27 May), another man was sentenced to 6 weeks’ jail for repeatedly reporting to work at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) while on SHN, reports Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
According to ChannelNews Asia (CNA), the 27-year-old received an SHN after returning from Batam on 17 Mar, requiring him to stay home until 31 Mar.
Despite the notice, he allegedly went straight to work as a security officer at MBS after clearing immigration.
He took the MRT to work too, and worked a full 12-hour shift from 8pm-8am on 18 May, reports CNA.
Mr Singh continued going to work for the next 3 days, until his supervisor found out that he had been issued an SHN on 21 Mar. He was told to return home immediately.
Apart from coming into contact with others at work, Mr Singh also lodged with 3 of his colleagues at Snooze Inn on Dunlop Street.
CNA wrote that he took the MRT there too and alighted at Rochor MRT station.
He returned to the same company lodging after every shift, until he was told to go home on 21 Mar.
Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers also did not find him at his registered address while they conducted checks on him.
In total, Mr Singh breached his SHN for 5 days between 17-21 Apr.
In addition to that, he took public transport and travelled to other locations as well.
However, the court noted that he did not test positive for Covid-19, and did not breach his SHN for “frivolous reasons“, reports CNA.
He mentioned that he was his family’s sole breadwinner, and his father was jobless. His grandmother is in ill health too.
Thus, he was sentenced to 6 weeks’ jail.
For his offence, Mr Singh could have been jailed for up to 6 months and fined up to $10,000.
Though he did not test positive for Covid-19, Mr Singh’s actions still placed others at risk, especially since he took the MRT and worked in a public place.
SHNs must be taken seriously, and we must adhere to them if we are given one.
We hope Mr Singh learns his lesson from this incident and will not commit similar offences in the future.
Featured image adapted from Marina Bay Sands.
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