Skea Nigel, a British national, pleaded guilty to breaching his Stay-Home Notice (SHN) by leaving his hotel room on three occasions on Sep. 21, 2020.

On the last occasion, he was with Agatha Maghesh Eyamalai, his Singaporean fiancée who was not under SHN, but had booked a different room in the same hotel.

He did not wear a mask when leaving his hotel room.

Skea was charged under the Infectious Diseases (Covid-19 – Stay Orders) Regulations 2020 and the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020, while Agatha was charged with abetting Skea's breaches.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said on Jan. 15 that the duo would be charged in court for their offences.

Skea's room was on the 14th floor while Agatha's was on the 27th, the court heard.

He climbed 13 floors to meet her.

How the breaches were discovered

The court heard that the two accused were in contact prior to Skea's arrival in Singapore, and had agreed to meet when Skea checked in.

Prior to her arrival, Skea left his room to scout out the premises at around 12:52am.

He realised, however, that access was one-way and could not get back into his room. Stuck on the 14th floor, he called for help, and was let back into his room by hotel staff.

Agatha checked in to the hotel on 2:25am and was given a room on the 27th floor.

Skea used a piece of cardboard as a makeshift doorstopper to ensure he would be able to get back to his room.

However, after visiting Agatha, Skea found that he was unable to access his room via the emergency staircase, and continued down the stairs to the fourth floor, where he was stopped by hotel staff.

Skea told the hotel staff that his room door had accidentally closed behind him when he stepped out to collect food, repeated the lie to a hotel manager who escorted him back to his room.

However, upon arriving at Skea's room, the manager realised that the door was unlocked and ajar, and realised the lie.

Skea's actions were also captured on camera.

Hotels used for SHN can accept other guests

Hotels used as dedicated facilities for SHN are allowed to accept other guests as well.

This is subject to strict protocols to segregate persons on SHN from all other guests, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said previously.

Hotels must place persons serving SHN in segregated blocks, wings or floors, and ensure their route of movement is clearly demarcated from other guests.

Those on SHN are also not allowed access to common facilities in the hotels.

The Ritz-Carlton Millenia, the hotel where the couple stayed, told The Straits Times (ST) that it observes all government mandated regulations for SHN guests, and declined to comment further.

Couple had gone through a long period of separation

Defence lawyer Dhillon Surinder Singh, who represented both Skea and Agatha, said in mitigation that the couple had committed the offences "because of their emotionally vulnerable state", saying that the couple had gone through a long period of separation due to Skea's work overseas.

Addressing the judge, Singh said:

“Because of their love for each other and the long separation, your Honour, she couldn’t wait to see him once he arrived in Singapore”

Nevertheless, Deputy Public Prosecutor Kenneth Kee countered that the couple only had to wait for 14 more days to be reunited, and called attention to the fact that the offences were "clearly premeditated", with steps taken to avoid detection.

Kee also emphasised the duration that Skea spent outside of his room, Singh said that this factor was less relevant in Skea's case as he was not in a public place, and that contact with others was limited.

The case has been adjourned to Feb. 26.

Top photo by Nigel Chua