SINGAPORE - A man appeared in a district court on Friday (April 24) after he allegedly left home about 30 minutes before his period of isolation ended during the coronavirus outbreak.
Singaporean Tay Chun Hsien, 22, was charged with an offence under the Infectious Diseases Act.
Court documents showed he was ordered by the Director of Medical Services to be isolated in his Choa Chu Kang flat from March 19 until noon on March 22.
Tay is accused of not being home from around 11.30am until noon that day.
Court documents did not state why he had to be isolated and where he went after leaving home.
Tay, who was unrepresented, said that he intends to plead guilty to his charge and will be back in court on April 29.
If convicted, he faces up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.
On Thursday, 34-year-old Alan Tham Xiang Sheng, became the first person to be dealt with in court for exposing others to the risk of infection by breaching a stay-home notice (SHN).
Describing Tham's conduct as "socially reprehensible", Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun sentenced him to six weeks' jail.
Tham, who runs an online sales business, arrived in Singapore from Myanmar on March 23 and was served with an SHN.
As part of his notice, the Singaporean was supposed to stay home at all times until April 6.
But, on the day of his arrival, he went to several places islandwide including Peninsula Plaza in North Bridge Road and Kampung Admiralty Hawker Centre in Woodlands Drive 71, where he had bak kut teh.
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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
