SINGAPORE - A man convicted of giving an illegal paid ride during last year's circuit breaker - the first such case - was sentenced on Friday (March 12) to three days' jail and a fine of $1,800.

Ng Chiang Huat, 54, was also disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles for a year.

The Singaporean was caught after he picked up two passengers who turned out to be Land Transport Authority (LTA) officers.

Singapore had imposed the circuit breaker between April 7 and June 1 last year to curb the spread of Covid-19.

On Feb 15, he pleaded guilty to one count of using his car as a public service vehicle without a proper licence to do so and one of an offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Lee Ti-Ting and LTA prosecutor Ng Jun Kai had earlier stated in court documents that at the time of the offences, Ng was a sales representative for a wholesale trading firm.

He was also a member of the Covid-19 Lockdown SGHitch chat group on messaging platform Telegram.

On April 23 last year, he posted a message in the group stating: "Driver looking for pax."

DPP Lee had earlier told the court: "A prospective passenger by the name of 'Decha' responded to the accused's post, and at about 9.56am, the accused accepted the carpooling request to ferry the said passenger from Block 430 Choa Chu Kang Avenue 4 to Plaza Singapura for a fare of $12."

A man and a woman - who turned out to be LTA officers - later boarded Ng's car at around 10.20am. It was not mentioned in court papers if they were part of an operation to weed out drivers who provide unlicensed rides.

But about 25 minutes later, Ng was stopped by an LTA enforcement officer in Handy Road near the shopping mall while transporting the pair.

When questioned, Ng lied to the man, claiming that the pair were his relatives.

The DPP added: "(The officer) asked the accused for the names of the passengers.

"As the accused was unable to provide the exact names of the passengers, the accused then admitted... that the two passengers in his vehicle were not his relatives, and that he was ferrying them in exchange for a fare."

First-time offenders convicted of an offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $10,000.

Repeat offenders can be jailed for up to a year and fined up to $20,000.