Couple charged with harassing Sengkang hospital nurse and family by allegedly spraying disinfectant, shouting 'Covid spreader'

• Lim Sok Lay, 48, faces six charges in total; her husband Cheang Eng Hock, 56, was given two harassment charges
• They are both accused of shouting phrases like “Covid spreader” and spraying disinfectant at their neighbours in May last year
• Lim also allegedly sprayed more disinfectant at them in October and December last year
• Cheang was offered bail and Lim was remanded in the Institute of Mental Health for psychiatric assessment

SINGAPORE — A married couple were hauled to court on Friday (May 21) and charged with committing a string of harassment offences against their next-door neighbours, including a nurse from Sengkang General Hospital (SKH).

Lim Sok Lay, 48, faces five charges of using insulting words or behaviour under the Protection from Harassment Act and another unrelated charge of public nuisance. Her husband Cheang Eng Hock, 56, was handed two harassment charges.

Court documents showed that both of them shouted “Covid”, “Covid spreader”, “virus” or “virus family” and sprayed disinfectant at their neighbours’ direction between May 13 and 15 last year. 

They lived at a public housing block at Edgefield Plains in Punggol at the time.

The couple also allegedly hurled the phrases: “This nurse gangster”, “This nurse no good” and “This Malay nurse very bad” at a man at SKH on Jan 8 this year. It is unclear if the man is their neighbour.

Lim is further accused of spraying disinfectant at her neighbours’ unit on Oct 21 and Dec 10 last year, and hurling multiple vulgarities at them on Nov 11 last year.

She also allegedly raised her voice and continuously shouted loudly at Ngee Ann City shopping mall on Feb 21 this year, despite a police officer giving her several warnings.

NURSE SHARED VIDEOS ON INSTAGRAM

The nurse first took to Instagram in May last year to share about how his neighbours were insulting him and his family because of his profession. He claimed that he and his parents, who had gone to his home to pick up his children, had endured taunts and verbal abuse.

In his captions that accompanied the Instagram videos, which have gone viral earlier, he wrote that he had a good relationship with his next-door neighbours for the past six years.

However, he said that stopped when Covid-19 broke out and his neighbours learnt that he and his wife were “frontliners” — the man had said in one post that his wife was an essential service worker, though he did not go into details.

He then lodged a police report after Lim and Cheang allegedly sprayed disinfectant at his daughter’s face.

On Thursday, the police said in a statement that while investigations over this incident were ongoing, they received several other reports alleging similar harassment by the duo. 

This was despite all the parties involved attending mediation sessions at the Community Mediation Centre in June last year to resolve the matter.

In March this year, the nurse again posted videos on Instagram of his neighbour throwing soapy water on the ground outside his home and spraying disinfectant at his family. This is not the subject of any charges yet.

The police added in their statement that they are investigating Lim for other offences that were reported in April.

On Friday, a police prosecutor told the court that they could be pressing two more charges against Cheang in relation to the nurse. Cheang said that he will consider whether to hire a lawyer.

He was offered bail of S$5,000 and will return to court on June 18.

As for Lim, District Judge Adam Nakhoda ordered for her to be remanded in the Institute of Mental Health for two weeks to undergo a psychiatric assessment. She will return to court on June 6.

If convicted of harassment, Lim and Cheang could be jailed for up to six months or fined up to S$5,000, or punished with both.

Those convicted of public nuisance can be jailed for up to three months or fined up to S$2,000, or both.

The police said on Thursday that they “do not condone any behaviour that impacts the public’s sense of safety and security in the neighbourhoods”. 

“We urge members of the public to practise neighbourliness and work together to overcome Covid-19 together.”