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SINGAPORE: Two men and a woman were charged on Tuesday (April 21) with various crimes after violating their notices to stay home in separate cases.
Chong Chun Wah, 48, allegedly left his Bukit Batok home three times after returning from Indonesia and received a notification to stay home.
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Chong Chun Wah, a 48-year-old Singaporean who allegedly breached his notice to stay home, is seen outside state courts on April 21, 2020. (Photo: Hanidah Amin)
He returned to Singapore on March 17 and was ordered to stay home from March 17 to 31, but he allegedly took a bus to Jurong East to buy food on March 24.
Chong is accused of exposing others to the risk of infection by appearing in a public place when he used public transportation to visit a cafe in Block 252, Jurong East that day.
He had reason to suspect that he had been in contact with a COVID-19 case, according to the charge sheet.
He is accused of leaving his home for about five minutes to check his mail on the ground floor of his block four days later.
On March 29, he allegedly walked to a cafe in Bukit Batok to buy food, spending 30 minutes to 45 minutes outside.
He said he did not want to hire a lawyer and that he will return to court for a pre-trial conference on his three charges on May 8.
Siti Wan Su’Aidah Samsuri, 25, returned to Singapore from Australia on March 25 and was ordered to stay home until April 8.
However, he allegedly left his Woodlands home on March 30 and walked to Vista Point to buy groceries and cigarettes, ignoring calls from Immigration and Control Authority officials during this time.
The judge told him that the prosecution would not object to a fine if he pleaded guilty, and Siti said he wanted to hire a lawyer. The case was adjourned for a pre-trial conference on May 8.
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Siti Wan Su’Aidah, a 25-year-old Singaporean woman who allegedly violated her notice to stay home, is seen outside state courts on April 21, 2020. (Photo: Hanidah Amin)
American commercial pilot Brian Dugan Yeargan, 44, arrived in Singapore from Australia on April 3 and received a short-term visitor pass that was valid for 30 days, ICA said in a statement.
He received a notice to stay home from April 3 to 17, but allegedly left the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, where he was staying.
He is accused of taking a train from the Changi Airport MRT station to City Hall two days later, on April 5, and walking to Chinatown Point to shop and buy personal items, spending about three hours outside.
Yeargan’s attorney said his client was concerned about his family and wanted to return home as soon as possible. He agreed to a tentative date for Yeargan to plead guilty Thursday.
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Brian Dugan Yeargan, a 44-year-old United States citizen who allegedly violated his notice to stay home, is seen outside state courts on April 21, 2020. (Photo: Hanidah Amin)
Each of them faces up to six months in prison, a fine of up to S $ 10,000, or both, for each charge under the Infectious Diseases Act and its regulations.
All three are the last to be charged with violating notices to stay home.
A man pleaded guilty to violating his order to run errands and eat bak kut teh with his girlfriend, while a newspaper vendor is accused of leaving home to deliver newspapers.
A third man reportedly left his home in the early morning to meet a friend.
Others have been charged with coronavirus-related crimes: two foreign workers for violating quarantine orders, a suspected illegal organizer of the race for gathering more than 10 people for an event, and one man for slapping a distance ambassador .
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