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Just before the circuit breaker in April, 13 men had allegedly gathered at a funeral, chanting gang slogans as part of a secret society ritual.
Twelve of them were indicted in court yesterday for violating safe distancing measures at the wake along Circuit Road on April 5 around 1pm.
This was during the control period between March and April, which limited the number of people in some meetings to no more than 10.
The men also face charges of being members of an illegal society.
Police investigations revealed that the suspects, aged 16 to 35, allegedly chanted gang slogans to show their affiliation to a secret society.
They are Alvin Mo Boon Heng, 35, Baey Xin Yu and Don Tham, both 25, Cedric Teo, Eugine Lee Eng Qin and Kuah Jun Hong Julian, 19, Lim Wei Xuan, 26, Luo Junyuan and Tay Wee Keong, both 24 and Yu Wei Jie, 22.
Two of them cannot be named because they are under 18 years of age.
The thirteenth individual, Ong Teck Wei, 34, faced a similar charge for his role in the incident.
Ong did not appear at the hearing yesterday because he had been arrested for drug offenses.
Police said in a statement Tuesday night that four of the men, ages 19 to 36, had recruited new gang members.
Lim, who is believed to have rented the funeral pavilion at Block 37 Circuit Road, is charged with violating safe distancing measures by allowing more than 10 people to gather at the location.
Some of the men have other charges against them.
Yu is charged with crimes related to unpaid cigarettes, while Teo is involved in harassment of loan sharks and gang-related activities.
All 13 people are expected to return to court this month and next.
If convicted of violating safe distancing measures, they can each be fined up to $ 10,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.
If convicted of gang-related activity, each of them can be fined up to $ 5,000, imprisoned for up to three years, or both.
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