SINGAPORE - Ten Indian nationals have been charged in a district court on Friday (May 22) with gathering unlawfully in a Kim Keat Road shophouse on May 5, during the circuit breaker period.
They are accused of flouting social distancing rules under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act.
Two of them, Navdeep Singh, 20, and Sajandeep Singh, 21, face three charges each, while the rest are given one charge each.
They are Arpit Kumar and Vijay Kumar, both 20; Sharma Lukesh, 21; Bhullar Jasteena, 23; Mohammed Imran Pasha, 26; Avinash Kaur, 27; Karmjit Singh, 30 and Waseem Akram, 33.
According to court documents, Navdeep Singh, Sajandeep Singh and Kaur are tenants at the shophouse.
Kaur allegedly allowed Bhullar to enter her home around 11.30am that day to study.
Her two housemates are accused of allowing the others to come in "to talk and have tea" earlier in the morning.
Bhullar, Imran and Vijay Kumar told District Judge Lorraine Ho on Friday that they are students but did not state where they are studying.
Bhullar said: "I made a mistake. I went to my friend's house to study... I had to prepare for an exam. I feel sorry."
She added that she wanted to ask her family whether a lawyer was needed to handle her case.
Her pre-trial conference will be held on June 5. The nine others intend to plead guilty to their charges and they will be back in court on June 3.
The Indian nationals were among 15 people taken to court on Friday over offences related to the Covid-19 outbreak.
The other five are Singaporeans: T. Sathish, 28; Renukha Arumugam, 30; George Heng Seng Huat, 54, Mohd Yusoff Shaik Alladin, 55 and Liw Ah Piw, 65.
VERBALLY ABUSED POLICEMAN
Sathish is accused of two offences under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act, three counts of harassment and an offence under the National Registration Act.
He allegedly left his Loyang Rise home on April 24 to go to his parents' flat in Serangoon North Avenue 2.
After that, he is said to have walked around "aimlessly" and drank alcohol in public places before falling asleep at a bus stop in front of Block 106, Lorong 1 Toa Payoh.
Court documents say he was spotted not wearing a mask over his nose and mouth at the bus stop at 8.44am the next day.
Sathish is accused of spewing vulgarities at a policeman minutes later when the officer approached him.
He was taken to the Police Cantonment Complex, where he was said to have verbally abused the same policeman on two occasions later that morning.
Sathish is also accused of failing to report his change of home address to a registration officer within 28 days after he moved.
He moved from his parents' flat to Loyang Rise in May last year, court documents show.
LEFT HOME TO MEET BOYFRIEND
Renukha was handed five charges under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act.
On April 12, she allegedly left her Jurong West flat to meet her boyfriend at a bench near Block 713, Clementi West Street 2 around 3am. His name was not disclosed in court documents.
She is said to have met him again in Clementi around 12.30pm on April 17 and is accused of failing to wear a mask over her nose and mouth about an hour later.
Renukha allegedly left her home again around 11am on April 29 to meet another person, whose name was not given in court documents.
She will be pleading guilty on June 10.
WENT OUTSIDE TO DRINK BEER
Liw, who lives in a flat in York Hill near Outram Park, is accused of four offences under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act.
He allegedly left his home on four occasions, between April 22 and May 2, to consume beer, police said in a statement on Thursday.
HARASSED PUBLIC SERVANT
Yusoff, who faces one count of harassment, is accused of using "insulting words" on an environmental officer from the Singapore Food Agency.
It happened around noon on April 15 when the officer was on her rounds to ensure that people comply with stiffer safe distancing measures.
Yusoff was at a food stall at Block 138, Tampines Street 11 when he allegedly told the woman: "Not lowly people like you. Masagos and Teo Chee Hean also talk nicely to me. You lowly people only yaya papaya. I'm going get you all into trouble."
He told the court on Friday the officer approached the stall after his son, who was cooking at the stall, was spotted with his mask not covering his mouth and nose. Yusoff claimed she was not polite when addressing the matter.
Mr Masagos Zulkifli is the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, while Senior Minister Teo is the Coordinating Minister for National Security.
LEFT PLACE OF ISOLATION
Heng had earlier been ordered to be isolated at a Marine Drive flat from Feb 10 to 24.
Court documents did not give details on his quarantine.
On Feb 24, he allegedly left the flat on two occasions without the permission of the Director of Medical Services.
The first was from 2.53pm to 3.07pm and again, from 3.14pm to 3.33pm.
Heng, who was handed two charges under the Infectious Diseases Act on Friday, told the court he intends to plead guilty. He will be back in court on June 3.
The cases involving Sathish, Liw and Yusoff have been adjourned to June 12.
For each count of harassment, an offender can be jailed up to a year and fined a maximum of $5,000.
For failing to wear a mask in public, a first-time offender can be jailed up to six months and fined a maximum of $10,000.
Repeat offenders caught not wearing a mask in public can be jailed up to a year and fined up to $20,000.
