Earlier in February, three teenagers aged between 17 and 19 were arrested for a case of public nuisance.

The three were involved in a viral video which showed two of them spitting over the railing in Bugis Junction at the start of the Covid-19 outbreak during DORSCON Orange, on February 28, 2020.

They were filmed spitting, and a burst of laughter can be heard in the background.

According to CNA on July 15, one of them, 18-year-old Cai Jiaxu, has pleaded guilty to one charge of public nuisance.

The two other teens were identified as 17-year-old Gerald Chan Weiheng and 19-year-old Jolin Huang Rui Xian.

Spat from 4th floor of Bugis Junction shopping mall out of boredom

CNA reported that Cai thought of the idea to spit over the railing out of boredom, and was curious to find out how his friends would react.

He then asked Chan to hit his head to stage it as an accidental act. Huang egged Chan on to participate, and took out her phone to film the act.

Cai and Chan spat over the railing, knowing that their action was being recorded.

They also spat in the direction of a Subway outlet at Basement 1, where diners were present.

Shared video clip online

Huang posted the video in a group chat with their friends. Huang and Chan also posted the clip on their Instagram accounts.

Even though they deleted the video subsequently, the video was already circulated and reposted on other public pages.

Hygiene issues were taken more seriously due to Covid-19 when the incident happened. As a result, the video sparked significant public reaction.

Claimed to have apologised but Subway staff were unaware of the apology

About a week after the video went viral, a Facebook user who claimed to be one of the trio reached out to Mothership on March 6.

He said that they had cleaned up the spit and said that the spit did not hit any shoppers.

He also said that the trio had apologised to the Subway staff.

However, when Mothership contacted a Subway representative, the staff at the outlet were apparently unaware of any such apology.

Yahoo reported that the Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Gail Wong said in court that the Ministry of Health was already issuing daily advisories on Covid-19 situation, and public awareness of good hygiene practices was heightened.

Therefore, Wong felt there was a need to send "a deterrent message" to Cai as his action posed a public health risk.

Yahoo also added that Cai was not represented and submitted a letter in mitigation.

The judge adjourned the sentencing to August 26, as Cai will be assessed for probation.

Top image via Sg-share together Facebook and CapitaLand website