SINGAPORE - There have been 367 breaches of stay-home notices (SHNs) and 130 violations of quarantine orders as at Jan 25, said Minister of State for Home Affairs Faishal Ibrahim on Tuesday (Feb 2).
A total of 308,442 SHNs and 268,385 quarantine orders had been issued at that time, he added.
Associate Professor Faishal was responding in Parliament to Mr Louis Chua (Sengkang GRC), who had asked about the number of SHN and quarantine order breaches, as well as the penalties for these actions.
Those who breach SHNs and quarantine orders may be prosecuted under the Infectious Diseases Act, Prof Faishal said. They could be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.
He gave the example of a man who was sentenced to three months' jail last July for evading the service of a home quarantine order on four occasions, and for refusing to comply with the order.
In another instance, a Singaporean who had just returned from Myanmar was jailed for six weeks after he visited a hawker centre and went grocery shopping.
Government agencies may also take administrative actions against those who breach the SHN or quarantine order, Prof Faishal said. He noted how several people who broke these rules had their work passes revoked, while in a separate incident, another man lost his permanent resident status.
The authorities have since adopted a range of technological solutions to monitor those serving SHNs or quarantine orders, he added.
Since last August, all who are serving SHNs at home are required to wear an electronic monitoring device, which must be activated once they reach home. The devices use Global Positioning System (GPS) data, together with 4G Bluetooth signals, to determine that a person is within range of his place of residence.
"During the 14-day period, persons wearing these devices may receive notifications on the devices and need to acknowledge them in a timely manner," Prof Faishal said. "Any attempt to leave your place of residence or tamper with the electronic device will result in alerts being sent to the authorities, who will then conduct follow-up investigations and take further enforcement actions if necessary."
Those serving quarantine orders are required to put on similar devices, he added, noting that they are mandatory for Singaporeans, PRs, long-term pass holders and short-term visitors.
