A 63-year-old man has to either pay a S$3,500 fine or go to jail for one week for repeatedly breaching safe distancing measures.

The man, Ong King Hwa, was fined S$3,500 on June 10, The New Paper reported.

He pleaded guilty to two charges for breaching safe distancing regulations during the circuit breaker period.

An additional three similar charges were taken into consideration.

What happened

Ong met up with friends in public to drink beer three times.

He met them at a stone bench outside Hao Supermarket at Block 74 Whampoa Drive on April 12, May 3 and 8.

Patrolling officers spotted Ong with an elderly man sitting on the stone bench talking and having beer at about 8.50pm on May 3.

When the officers approached the two men, Ong pulled his mask over his eyes.

This left his mouth exposed, and he pretended he could not see the officers.

He returned to wearing his mask properly after being told to do so by the officers.

Final straw

On May 8, at about 6.30pm, another group of patrolling officers saw Ong with another two elderly men at the same bench, chatting and drinking beer.

The trio were not wearing their masks properly, as they had worn them on their chins, leaving their noses and mouths exposed.

The officers told the elderly men to pack up and go home on compassionate grounds.

Ong admitted he had nothing to do at home and was out to meet his friends.

The officers said they would return five minutes later to check on them.

When the officers came back, Ong refused to leave.

The other two elderly men were packing up and leaving.

Ong then took out his identity card and challenged the officers to fine him.

However, he did not pay the out-of-court composition fines of S$300 and S$1,000 issued on April 12 and May 3.

Deterrence sentence

The S$3,500 fine sought by the prosecution was to send a clear deterrent signal to such recalcitrant offenders.

If the fine is not paid, Ong will have to serve a week in jail as default.

Ong was previously convicted of using abusive language and using criminal force on public servants.

For each count of breaching safe distancing regulations, he could have been jailed for up to six months, or fined up to S$10,000, or both.

Top photo via Google Maps