'Please ban all flights from India': Gilbert Goh investigated for holding placard outside ICA building

Activist Gilbert Goh is now under investigation for carrying out a public assembly without a police permit, the police told AsiaOne on Monday (May 3).

In a Facebook post on May 1, Goh was seen holding up a placard that read "Please ban all flights from India. We are not racist! Just being cautious," as he stood in front of the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) building.

The post has gotten over 2,000 reactions and nearly 1,500 shares at the time of writing. 

However, Goh did not have a permit to carry out a public assembly, the police said, adding that "organising or participating in a public assembly without a police permit in Singapore is illegal and constitutes an offence under the Public Order Act."

Investigations are ongoing.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/goh.gilbert/posts/10161088503113975[/embed]

Since April 23, all long-term pass holders and short-term visitors who have been to India within the last 14 days are barred from entering Singapore. This includes visitors who transit in India, even if they had obtained prior approval for entry into Singapore.

The travel ban follows a massive surge in Covid-19 cases in India that has seen hospitals across the country running out of beds and oxygen.

India saw a record 3,689 deaths due to Covid-19 on May 2, the highest single-day toll since the start of the pandemic. The country's death toll now exceeds 215,000, while the total caseload has increased by over 400,000 new cases taking the total caseload to over 19.56 million.

rainercheung@asiaone.com