A 48-year-old male Singaporean citizen, Palanivelu Ramasamy, was arrested and charged for an offence under the Infectious Diseases (COVID-19 – Stay Orders) Regulations 2020 on Apr. 7, 2020.

Delivered newspapers in spite of a SHN

According to a joint media release by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on Apr. 7, Ramasamy had arrived in Singapore from India on Mar. 21, 2020.

He had stayed there for around a month and was served with a Stay-Home Order (SHN) upon his return to Singapore.

He acknowledged that he understood the contents of the notice and that he could not leave his place of residence for 14 days.

On Mar. 30, 2020, a team of officers from visited Ramasamy’s place of residence as part of enforcement checks, and found him to be not there.

Investigations later revealed that Ramasamy had left his place of residence for about two hours to deliver newspapers.

He took a bus and walked to Goldhill Plaza in Newton, and delivered newspapers to multiple units across multiple floors.

He would then walk to the bus stop and took a bus home.

"His actions exposed him to various people, and this non-compliance with the SHN requirements posed a risk to public health", the release read.

Any person convicted of an offence under the Infectious Diseases (COVID-19 – Stay Orders) Regulations 2020 is liable to a fine of up to S$10,000, or up to six months’ imprisonment, or both.

Man charged after flouting SHN to eat bak kut teh

On the same day, 34-year-old Alan Tham was charged for an offence under the Infectious Diseases Act.

He had flouted his SHN as he had not proceeded home immediately after arriving back in Singapore from Myanmar on Mar. 23, 2020.

Instead, he went to eat bak kut teh, and had also visited Peninsula Plaza, Kampung Admiralty while he was out.

The ICA will not hesitate to take firm enforcement action against those who fail to comply with the SHN requirements.

The ICA may also cancel their immigration facilities where applicable.

Top image via Wikimedia Commons

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