SINGAPORE — Even though he knew his friend was serving a stay-home notice after returning from abroad, Kaiser Sow went to a Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore hotel room where she was staying to surprise her for her birthday.

They spent an hour in the room and he was almost caught by a hotel staff member, but he managed to flee.

On Thursday (July 29), the 20-year-old Singaporean pleaded guilty to abetting Teo Yue Qi in breaching her stay-home notice, which she had to serve in line with regulations to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Teo and Sow knew each other from their school days.

District Judge Tan Jen Tse will take into consideration a second charge of criminal trespass for the purposes of sentencing Sow.

The judge called for a report to assess Sow’s suitability for probation, which is usually offered to first-time offenders aged between 16 and 21. This does not result in a recorded criminal conviction and allows young offenders to continue with their education or employment while serving their sentences.

The court heard that Teo, who is also aged 20, entered Singapore on Nov 22 last year and was ordered to stay alone in her hotel room from then until Dec 6. She was also banned from coming into close contact with others during this period.

On Nov 28, which was Teo’s birthday, Sow entered the hotel to see if he could surprise her by visiting.

They had been in contact before this and Sow knew her room number. He also knew he was not supposed to come into close proximity with her, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Timotheus Koh told the court.

However, Sow later realised that he could not access the 17th floor where Teo’s room was. He then followed some guests to the 30th floor and exited the lift with them, before finding a service elevator and taking it down 13 storeys.

When he rang Teo’s doorbell, she was surprised to see him but did not stop him from walking into the room.

He spent about an hour there, from 3pm to 4pm. Upon leaving, he went down 17 flights of stairs to the ground floor of the hotel.

He fled when a hotel staff member tried to detain him. He managed to find an exit and went home in a taxi.

In a written mitigation plea, Sow stated that he would abide by all the conditions of probation if he was found suitable for one. He also said that he had been disciplined by the Singapore Armed Forces over this incident, which took place when he was serving National Service.

Those convicted of breaking Covid-19 laws can be jailed for up to six months or fined up to S$10,000, or punished with both.

Teo was given a composition fine for breaching her stay-home notice requirements, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority said in response to TODAY’s queries.