SINGAPORE - A 50-year-old Singaporean man is expected to be charged in court on Thursday (April 30) after he allegedly breached his stay-home notice twice after returning from Indonesia.
Mr Ong Chong Kiat is believed to have made two trips from his Hougang home to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) Building in Kallang Road, where he sought to make an appeal to be allowed to leave Singapore before completing his stay-home notice from March 24 to April 7.
In a statement on Wednesday, the ICA said Mr Ong first took a private-hire vehicle to the building on March 27, and was told by its officers to return home immediately. He is believed to have been outside his home for about three hours.
Three days later, Mr Ong again left his home, taking another private-hire vehicle to Tan Tock Seng Hospital to get his medical test reports before once more going to the ICA Building to appeal to leave the country. This time, he was outside his home for about two hours.
The authority said it investigated Mr Ong's wilful breach of stay-home notice requirements and, in consultation with the Attorney-General's Chambers, decided to charge him under the Infectious Diseases Act (Covid-19- Stay Orders) Regulations 2020.
If convicted, Mr Ong can be jailed up to six months, fined up to $10,000, or both.
Several people have been charged and sentenced over breaching their stay-home notices in recent weeks, as the authorities seek to enforce rules enacted to limit the spread of Covid-19.
Alan Tham Xiang Sheng, 34, became the first person to be convicted of exposing others to the risk of infection by breaching a stay-home notice when he met his girlfriend, went to eat bak kut teh, and visited a money changer, among other activities, before heading home to serve his notice on March 23.
He was sentenced to six weeks' jail.
Financial adviser Tay Chun Hsien, 22, was fined $1,500 for leaving his Choa Chu Kang home about 30 minutes before his coronavirus quarantine ended on March 22 to have breakfast at a neighbourhood shopping mall.
Members of the public can report information about anyone who fails to comply with stay-home notice requirements to the ICA at this website or call 6812-5555.
