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SINGAPORE – A High Court judge on Monday (October 19) prohibited a couple facing COVID-19-related charges from leaving Singapore for China in the middle of their trial, overturning an earlier ruling by state courts.
Chinese nationals Hu Jun, 39, and Shi Sha, 37, had claimed a trial for withholding information from public health officials about their whereabouts after Hu tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this year.
Judge Vincent Hoong said he allowed the prosecution’s motion to prevent the couple from leaving Singapore. This means that the couple’s bond will return to its original amount of $ 10,000.
The couple appeared in state courts on October 9 to request their return to China before their continuation of their trial scheduled for January 25-28 next year. District Judge Ng Peng Hong had granted the request, but increased the bond for both of them by $ 80,000 to $ 90,000 and also imposed various conditions on them.
While DJ Ng gave permission for Hu and Shi to return to Singapore before January 20, 2021, the prosecution, represented by Deputy Prosecutor Timotheus Koh, requested that the decision be reviewed by the High Court.
Citing the same reasons previously given by prosecutors in state courts, the Koh Police Department said on Monday that Hu and Shi were at risk of absconding without ties, home or work in Singapore and that sheriffs could not guarantee the return of the couple once they were in a different jurisdiction. He added that there is no extradition treaty between China and Singapore.
Arguing against the charge, the couple’s attorney, Dhanwant Singh, said that the crimes the couple faced were liable to bail and that Hu had requested to leave Singapore as his livelihood was adversely affected while he remained here.
He attached a document given to him by Hu’s employer when he visited Singapore earlier this year. The document certified Hu was an employee of the company, earning 500,000 yuan ($ 101,302.35) a year.
He added that Hu performed well with no criminal record during his time of service, and that Hu has agreed to comply with local laws and will take responsibility for his actions while he is here.
Shi and Hu were the first to be charged under the Infectious Diseases Act (IDA) earlier this year after it was revealed that they may have lied about their whereabouts between January 22 and January 29.
Hu had contracted COVID-19 and tested positive for the virus on January 31. The couple claimed the trial on their charges on August 17 and were to resume their trial on January 25-28 next year.
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