[ad_1]
SINGAPORE: During the Singapore “circuit breaker” on May 23, a migrant worker who was a suspected case of coronavirus allegedly left a parking lot at Singapore General Hospital where he was to await the result of his COVID-19 test, walked towards Tiong Bahru and took a public bus to Lower Delta Road.
From there, he is said to have boarded a taxi to Changi Airport Terminal 1, where he spoke with airport staff and loitered for about four hours.
Parthiban Balachandran, a 25-year-old Indian national, was charged on Wednesday (November 18) with three counts under the Infectious Diseases Act.
According to the charge sheets, Parthiban, a suspected contact for the COVID-19 cases, had also left Jurong Penjuru’s Bedroom 1 on June 16 to travel to Changi Airport by taxi. The bedroom was at the time listed as a COVID-19 isolation area.
At the airport, he spoke to staff about buying a plane ticket to India and slept there, charge sheets indicated.
He is also accused of traveling to Tampines, where he entered the apartment of one of his relatives.
According to the charge sheets, he was out of the bedroom for approximately 30 hours, from approximately 5.50 am on June 16 to approximately noon the following day.
Parthiban, who is being represented pro bono by Invictus Law Corporation, was expected to plead guilty on Wednesday, but will return to state courts at a later date for a pretrial conference due to a pending investigation against him.
Earlier this year, amid a growing number of COVID-19 cases, all migrant worker dormitories were classified as isolation areas to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
If convicted, Parthiban faces a fine of up to S $ 10,000, up to six months in jail or both, for violating the Infectious Diseases Act.
