The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has issued a warning to the Singaporean man who breached his Stay-Home Notice (SHN) to eat bak kut teh.
On Mar. 24, a Facebook post revealing what the man did went viral, prompting much backlash for the individual.
Will not hesitate to take strong enforcement
In a statement to Mothership, ICA said that they are aware of the Facebook post, which has since been deleted.
After investigations, the authority has ascertained the identity of the person under the SHN, and the nature of the breach.
Persons issued with an SHN are required to acknowledge the SHN, including the requirements set out within, and the SHN is operative with immediate effect, the statement said.
The individual has been warned not to breach the conditions of the SHN again.
ICA said that they will not hesitate to take "strong enforcement" against the man should he do so.
The man may also face the following penalties, as emphasised by the authority:
- Prosecution under Section 21A of the Infectious Diseases Act. Those who breach the SHN will face a fine of up to $10,000, or up to six months’ imprisonment, or both.
- If one is a Singapore Permanent Resident, Long-Term Visit Pass holder, Dependant’s Pass holder or Student’s Pass holder, the validity of their passes may be shortened, or their passes revoked;
- If one is a foreign employee issued with a Work Pass, it may be revoked;
- If one’s child/ward is a full-time student attending a preschool, school or other educational institutions in Singapore, the child/ward might be subjected to disciplinary action, including suspension or dismissal. For foreign students, we may also cancel the child/ward’s Student’s Pass or Dependant’s Pass;
- If one is a short-term visitor, their visit pass may be cancelled and they may be barred from re-entering Singapore.
The government will continue to conduct regular checks through text messages, phone calls and surprise house visits to ensure that individuals are complying with the SHN, ICA added.
New regulations?
In the statement, ICA also said that going forward, there will be "new regulations" which the Ministry of Health will be promulgating under the Infectious Diseases Act, to tighten enforcement against breaches of SHN.
Earlier in the day on Mar. 25, Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam touched on the incident in Parliament, revealing that he had asked for that specific case to be investigated.
Top image via Facebook post, ICA's Facebook page