In court for breaching stay-home notice

A man who breached a stay-home notice (SHN) and travelled out of his home to eat bak kut teh on March 23 was convicted yesterday after pleading guilty to an offence under the Infectious Diseases Act.

Alan Tham Xiang Sheng, 34, is the first person to be convicted for exposing others to the risk of infection by breaching an SHN.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Kenneth Chin urged the court to sentence Tham to at least 10 to 12 weeks' jail to "reflect the seriousness of the offence" and deter others from committing a similar act. He will be sentenced on April 23.

Tham, who runs an online sales business, was one of two Singaporeans charged last week with breaching their SHN in separate incidents amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The other man - Palanivelu Ramasamy, 48 - was charged with an offence under the Infectious Diseases (Covid-19 Stay Orders) Regulations 2020.

Yesterday, the DPP told the court that Tham arrived in Singapore from Myanmar on March 23 and was served with an SHN. As part of his notice, the Singaporean was supposed to stay home at all times from then until April 6.

But instead of going straight home to his Woodlands flat, he met up with his 36-year-old girlfriend at 3.40pm and the pair went to a foodcourt at Changi Airport's Terminal 3. After eating, the woman booked a private-hire car and they went to Peninsula Plaza in North Bridge Road where Tham visited a money changer.

The couple then took another private-hire car and they arrived at his home at 6.35pm. They left about two hours later and boarded a public bus for Kampung Admiralty Hawker Centre in Woodlands Drive 71 where he had some bak kut teh.

The court heard that he snapped photos of the meal and posted them on social media. After that, the couple went to a nearby FairPrice supermarket and Tham finally returned home around 10pm.

On March 25, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officers visited Tham as part of an enforcement check where he told them that he did not proceed home immediately after being served the SHN.

Tham is represented by lawyers Josephus Tan and Cory Wong from Invictus Law Corporation.

Yesterday, Mr Tan pleaded for his client to be given the maximum fine of $10,000. The lawyer said the SHN did not specify that Tham was supposed go home immediately after receiving it.

For breaching an SHN, offenders can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $10,000.

---

Prosecution seeks up to 8 weeks' jail for news vendor

The prosecution is seeking a jail term of between six and eight weeks for a man who allegedly breached his stay-home notice (SHN) to deliver newspapers on March 30.

Palanivelu Ramasamy, who appeared in court yesterday, is accused of leaving his Towner Road flat that day before going to Goldhill Plaza near Thomson Road.

The 48-year-old registered news vendor with Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) was one of two Singaporeans charged last week with breaching their SHN in separate incidents amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Palanivelu is facing a charge under the Infectious Diseases (Covid-19 Stay Orders) Regulations 2020.

The other man - Alan Tham Xiang Sheng, 34 - has pleaded guilty to an offence under the Infectious Diseases Act. Tham, who left his home on March 23 to eat bak kut teh, is the first to be convicted for breaching an SHN.

Yesterday, Mr Navin Kumar, who is a manager with SPH's circulation department, told the court that the company will be engaging a lawyer for Palanivelu.

No plea was taken and the case was adjourned to April 22 with Palanivelu's bail set at $5,000.

In a joint statement released earlier, the Ministry of Health and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said Palanivelu had arrived in Singapore from India on March 21, after spending about a month there. He was served with an SHN and was not supposed to leave his home for 14 days.

According to the statement, he was not there when ICA officers visited his flat during an enforcement check on March 30.

Responding to queries from The Straits Times, SPH said that it is aware of the case against Palanivelu.

Its spokesman added: "Mr Palanivelu has been a newspaper vendor with SPH since 1985, and has been faithfully serving our subscribers throughout these years. We are rendering him and his family the necessary assistance to help them through this difficult period.

"Since the implementation of Dorscon Orange and circuit breaker measures, we have constantly reminded our news vendor network of the need to comply with the prevailing regulations, even though this may result in later deliveries to our subscribers.

"We have also provided them with the necessary protective equipment like masks and gloves for them to carry out their jobs safely."

For breaching an SHN, an offender can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $10,000.