Singapore: On Friday (October 22), a 27-year-old man was accused in court of violating the COVID-19 stay-at-home notice and having dinner with a woman, putting others at risk of infection.
Ang Chenrui was accused of leaving his room at the JW Marriott Hotel South Beach in Singapore four times during the 14-day home notice.
According to a press release issued by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), Mr. Hong returned to Singapore on April 17 this year and received a home notice, ordering him to stay in a dedicated facility until May 1.
He was taken to the hotel after immigration clearance but allegedly violated his home notice three days later.
Ang was accused of leaving the hotel room between 8 am and 11:35 pm on April 20. He allegedly went to 416 seats in the Serangoon Center, and then had dinner with the female guest in a nearby coffee shop. Afterwards, they allegedly went to the NEX shopping mall.
The next day, Ang was accused of leaving the hotel room again and sitting in a chair along the public corridor. He allegedly left the hotel room on April 22 and went to the lobby on the first floor of the hotel. ICA said that in the two incidents, after the hotel staff found him, he returned to his room.
ICA stated that on April 24, Ang was approved by the authorities to go to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for consultation.
ICA added that the hotel arranged for Ang to be taken to IMH by special transportation, but when Ang got there, he did not register for consultation.
Instead, he allegedly went home and saw his tenants again. According to the fare meter, they went to Orchard Road together, and then went to a restaurant near Farrer Park MRT station. After this, Ang allegedly went home again.
“The hotel subsequently discovered that Ang had not registered for consultation and issued an alert to ICA about Ang’s disappearance,” the authorities said.
“ICA law enforcement officers subsequently found Ang in his home. Ang was subsequently admitted by IMH, where he completed the remaining days of the home notification.”
The ICA press release or court documents did not disclose the details of his admission to IMH in April.
Ang was not remanded and was released on bail of S$10,000. He will appear in court again in December to plead guilty.
For every charge that puts others at risk of infection, he may be sentenced to up to six months in prison, a fine of up to S$10,000, or both.
