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He was a cleaner at a shopping mall and his colleague tested positive for Covid-19.
Because of this, Soh Poh Tiong, 65, was told to go home and not report for work until further notice.
But for three days, officials from the Ministry of Health (MOH) were unable to deliver a home quarantine order because he was not at his apartment in Ang Mo Kio.
Even after the warrant was served, Soh repeatedly raped her, traveling to public places across Singapore out of sheer boredom and spending hours on public buses.
Yesterday, he was jailed for 12 weeks after pleading guilty to three crimes under the Infectious Diseases Act. District Judge Brenda Tan considered five similar charges during sentencing.
Soh worked as a cleaner at Clean Solutions and was stationed at the Northpoint City Mall in Yishun. On April 25, a cluster of seven cases was linked to the mall and as of May 9, there were 18 cases, including two cleaners.
Soh showed up for work on May 10 and was told to go home. Health Ministry officials were only able to deliver a quarantine order on May 13. Soh was asked to remain in isolation at his home until May 22 and was expressly told not to leave the premises, not even to buy food.
[[nid:478999]]But for eight consecutive days between May 14 and May 22, he went for a walk and visited the bus interchanges in Clementi, Tampines and Harbourfront, as well as the Toa Payoh Hub, where he interacted with staff at a public office to pay for tickets. bills.
Soh spent most of her time outdoors on public transportation. On three of the eight days, his EZ-Link card records showed that he spent more than 10 hours on public buses each day.
Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Kee said it was purely serendipitous that Soh did not hire Covid-19.
While acknowledging that Soh had worn a mask, the DPP said Soh’s actions were irresponsible and undermined efforts to combat the spread of the virus.
Noting that Soh was fully aware that he was a direct close contact of a positive case, DPP Kee said his guilt was the highest among known criminals who had disobeyed quarantine orders.
Soh, who was not represented, said he “had no other choice.”
He said in mitigation that when he was previously unemployed, he also did not stay home. “Being alone is very boring,” he said in Mandarin.
For each of his crimes, Soh could have been fined up to $ 10,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.
This article was first published in The new role. Permission is required for reproduction.
