Coronavirus: One cleaner jailed, another fined after hurling vulgarities at public servants

SINGAPORE - A cleaner was jailed and another fined on Wednesday (May 13) for hurling vulgarities at public servants in separate incidents during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Both of the convicted men are Singaporeans.

Christopher Amurutham, 56, who appeared in court via video link, was sentenced to 11 weeks' jail after pleading guilty to one count of using criminal force on a public servant. He also pleaded guilty to an offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act and two harassment charges.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Joshua Lim told the court that Christopher failed to wear a mask when he left home at around 6.15am on April 18. Its location was not revealed in court documents.

He downed some Chinese wine and boarded several buses before finally arriving at a stop near Toa Payoh Swimming Complex.

At around 12.25pm, a safe distancing ambassador (SDA) spotted him sitting on a bench near Block 20, Lorong 7 Toa Payoh.

The SDA advised Christopher to return home but the offender refused to comply. Instead, he drank some whisky before verbally abusing the SDA and his partner.

Two police officers - Sergeant Heidi Ow Hui Shi, 22, and Special Constable Sergeant Maccolm Leong Chen Rong, 19 - arrived on the scene at around 1pm but Christopher was found to be incoherent.

The cleaner then hurled vulgarities at the officers. He also grabbed Sgt Ow's left hand and forcefully pushed it away, throwing her off balance.

An off-duty traffic police officer stepped in and helped his colleagues arrest Christopher.

The cleaner appeared to be tipsy and reeked of alcohol when he turned up in court on April 22.

He was supposed to communicate through an interpreter via a video call and became agitated when there were some technical issues.

Christopher later hurled vulgarities at Special Constable Corporal Muhamad Zulkarnaen Muhamad Zaini, 22, a police officer attached to the State Courts.

He also flashed an obscene hand gesture at the policeman on two occasions before he was remanded that day.

In the other case, Abdul Halim Adi, 48, pleaded guilty to a harassment charge and was fined $3,500 on Wednesday.

The court heard that a safe distancing enforcement officer, 32, was deployed at Hougang Mall at around 1pm on April 14 when he spotted Abdul Halim's wife loitering outside the building. Investigations revealed that the woman, who was not named in court documents, was in the business of selling headscarves and was waiting outside the mall to hand one over to a client.

The court heard that she was carrying out business outside her home and was not an essential-service provider. It was not stated if action will be taken against her.

The wife walked away when she saw the officer approaching her, but he saw her again inside the mall about 15 minutes later and told her to go home.

The woman later met up with Abdul Halim and told her husband that the officer had been following her.

Unhappy, the cleaner hurled vulgarities at the officer when he saw the younger man walking by.

For each harassment charge, an offender can be jailed for up to a year and fined up to $5,000.