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SINGAPORE: Despite learning that social gatherings were prohibited during the “circuit breaker,” a woman let a man into her apartment to study and met another friend to pass him a birthday present.
For one charge of allowing a person from outside her home into her apartment, and another of meeting others for a social gathering, 25-year-old Mika She Yuan Wei was fined S $ 3,700 on Thursday (24th September). A third charge was considered.
Authorities were alerted to the crimes after the man, 26-year-old Malaysian Chiew Chin Wooi, posted photos with captions online indicating that he had left home while on medical leave to undergo an exam.
He is a fugitive after leaving Singapore on July 17 and was not charged with her again last month.
READ: Arrest warrant issued for man who did not return to Singapore to face COVID-19 related charges
He told the court that he had allowed Chiew, his friend and fellow auditor, to study at his apartment, as he was a Malaysian who was left alone in Singapore during the circuit breaker when “everything (was) closed.”
The court heard that Chiew had asked Ella if she could come to her apartment to take an online Certified Public Accountant exam at her home.
He said he wanted to do it because his WiFi connection was weaker where it left off. He went to She’s house around 8.40am on May 8, and left at 4.50pm and said he was going to see a doctor.
Later that night, she obtained a 5-day medical certificate for a cough and posted a photo of her MC online, which she saw.
The next day, Chiew went back to She’s flat at 9.35am to study together and take the second part of their exam online.
They went out together around noon to buy lunch, before eating it again on the floor. After Chiew finished her exam around 4 p.m. that day, she arranged to meet another colleague, 26-year-old Ang Hui Shian, to pass him a birthday present.
The trio met at the Punggol Waterway Point Mall and went to the supermarket together to buy groceries, before buying dinner to go.
Authorities discovered She’s crimes after investigations into Chiew’s breach of COVID-19 rules.
THERE WAS NO REAL NEED TO LET HIM IN: ATTORNEY
Deputy Prosecutor Norman Yew requested a fine of S $ 4,000, saying that he had allowed Chiew to enter his apartment two days in a row, spending many hours together in an enclosed space.
On May 9, the second day of his visit, despite knowing that Chiew had seen a doctor and had a medical certificate, he let him in anyway.
“There was no real need for her to let Chiew into the apartment,” the prosecutor said.
The judge added that the crime would not have been detected had it not been for the fact that Chiew posted some photos online.
She, who was not represented, stressed that although she had gone to buy lunch and groceries with other people, they had not been physically together at all times and had observed safe distancing measures.
“I acknowledge that I violated the COVID-19 rules,” he said. “I take full responsibility, but I want to highlight the reason.”
He said that Chiew was a Malaysian who stayed alone in Singapore.
“I JUST WANTED TO EXTEND A FRIENDLY HAND”
“During the circuit breaker, everything is closed, and I know he has to do an important exam. The moment he called me, he told me that he did not have stable WiFi to do … his important exam, and I assumed I was the only help available to him during the circuit breaker, “he said.
She said she knew in the back of her mind that it was during the circuit breaker, but she wanted to simply “extend a hand.”
“Also, I considered the point that it is during COVID-19, everyone has to take precautionary measures,” he said, adding that they stayed more than a meter apart on his floor.
He also said he knew he had a medical certificate, but thought it was from a leg sprain. It didn’t seem sick to him.
In response, the prosecutor said there were risks in allowing Chiew to enter a confined space with her, despite social distancing measures.
“If you look at his behavior from May 8 to May 9, you can see that he paid little attention to social distancing,” he said, adding that he had let Chiew into his apartment twice and had agreed to meet someone else.
District Judge Prem Raj said he would have been willing to be more lenient with her if she had faced only one charge. However, the crimes lasted two days.
He said he just didn’t understand why he had to meet someone else to pass him a birthday present when he knew of the need for precautions and the fact that the country was in the middle of the COVID-19 period.
However, he took into account his first guilty plea and allowed him to pay the fine in installments.
For each count of breaching a COVID-19 regulation, she could have been jailed for up to six months, fined up to S $ 10,000, or both.
An arrest warrant was issued against Chiew last month, after he failed to appear for charges along with her. The prosecutor said at the time that he had not returned to Singapore, without specifying which country he was in.
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