Yet again food is the downfall of another Singaporean quarantine breaker! Here at Practice Source we have to say it’s pretty tempting we’re just getting tummy rumbles writing the story.
Financial adviser Tay Chun Hsien, 22, felt the urge to have breakfast at a neighbourhood shopping mall even though he had only about 30 minutes to go to the end of his quarantine. He left his Choa Chu Kang flat to have his meal, a trip that has proven costly. Reports the Straits Times
Yesterday, the Singaporean was fined $1,500 after pleading guilty to an offence under the Infectious Diseases Act.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Norman Yew said Tay had been suspected of being a contact of a Covid-19 case, and the director of medical services ordered him to be isolated in his flat.
Court documents did not state why he was suspected of being a contact at the time.
The DPP added that the written order “stated in bold and underline” that he had to be isolated in his flat from March 19 until March 22 at “1200hrs”.
The Ministry of Health said in an earlier statement that Tay had acknowledged the content of his quarantine order when he received it. He had also noted that he was not supposed to leave his home for the entire duration of the quarantine period.
Despite this, he left his home at around 11.30am on March 22. It took him about seven minutes to walk 550m to a food court at Yew Tee Square in Choa Chu Kang Street 62, the court heard.
After that, he bought a prata meal and sat down at a table inside the eatery to consume it. At around 11.40am, a Certis Security officer made a video call to Tay’s mobile phone to check if he was home.
Tay was told to return home immediately after he informed the officer that he had left his flat to buy food.
The offender complied and he reached his home at around noon.
Yesterday, defence lawyer Richard Siaw said his client committed the offence after he mistakenly thought that the quarantine order ended at midnight on March 22 instead of noon that day.
