Friend who attended party at Terence Cao's home fined $3k

Actor initially had 5 guests but the man invited 4 others; the number of visitors later grew to 12

Lance Lim Chee Keong (far left), 50, pleaded guilty to an offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act. Lim was one of 12 guests who attended a gathering at actor Terence Cao Guohui's (left) home last October - more than the permitted limit un
Lance Lim Chee Keong (left), 50, pleaded guilty to an offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act. Lim was one of 12 guests who attended a gathering at actor Terence Cao Guohui's (right) home last October - more than the permitted limit under phase two regulations. Cao's case is still pending. PHOTOS: NG SOR LUAN, ST FILE

Veteran actor Terence Cao Guohui, who had initially organised a gathering at his home for himself and five others last October, later found more guests at his doorstep after one of his friends invited them to the party.

The friend, Lance Lim Chee Keong, 50, had invited four more people and the total number of guests later increased to 12 as the celebration progressed amid the Covid-19 outbreak.

Yesterday, Lim pleaded guilty to an offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act and was fined $3,000.

The Singaporean had breached phase two regulations as he had gathered at Cao's home with 12 other people - more than the permitted limit.

Meanwhile, Cao, 53, told the court last month that he also intends to plead guilty to his charge. His case is still pending.

The court heard that Cao had organised the event at his condominium apartment in Daisy Road, off Braddell Road, last October to celebrate his own birthday as well as those of fellow artistes Shane Pow Xun Ping, 30, and Jeffrey Xu Mingjie, 32.

The event had received flak on social media after pictures of the unmasked group went viral online.

Twelve guests were in the unit between 9pm on Oct 2 last year and 1am the following day.

Among them were artistes Jeremy Chan Ming Yuew, 39; Julie Tan Shaoyin, 29; Sonia Nicola Chew, 30; Dawn Yeoh Yishan, 34; Heng Tee Kok, 45; Pow and Xu.

The five other guests were managers Tan Jun Chuan, 30; Debbie Lu Shuyi, 33; and Eleanor Wang Chunwei, 34; part-time model Valnice Yek Jia Hui, 22; and Lim.

Eleven of those who gathered had earlier been fined $300, in lieu of being prosecuted, due to their lower level of culpability.

The celebrities have since apologised via Mediacorp, saying they "deeply regret" their actions.

Following this incident, Ms Chew was dropped from hosting Mediacorp's annual countdown show.

Pow was slapped with an unrelated drink driving charge last month and Mediacorp has since terminated his contract. His case involving this charge is still pending.

Lim was represented by lawyers Josephus Tan and Cory Wong from Invictus Law Corporation.

They stated in their mitigation plea that their client, who used to be a magazine editor, was "hard hit" by the pandemic and had lost his job. They also said that Lim has learnt his lesson and is remorseful.

First-time offenders who breach laws 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.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 19, 2021, with the headline Friend who attended party at Terence Cao's home fined $3k. Subscribe