Covid-19: Probation for young woman who met boyfriend 10 times to exercise, watch movies during circuit breaker

• May Moe Kyi left her home 10 times to visit her boyfriend during the circuit breaker period in 2020
• She was sentenced to six months’ probation
• The prosecution has applied for a stay of execution to consider the judge’s decision

SINGAPORE — A woman who repeatedly left her home during the circuit breaker period last year to meet her then-boyfriend for social purposes was sentenced to six months’ probation on Wednesday (Oct 6).

May Moe Kyi, 23, a Singapore permanent resident from Myanmar, pleaded guilty last month to two counts of leaving her home without a reasonable purpose, and six other charges of meeting a person not living in the same residence.

Twelve other similar charges were taken into consideration for sentencing by District Judge Kok Shu-En.

As part of the conditions for her administrative probation, May Moe Kyi must stay indoors from 10pm to 6am every day and perform 40 hours of community service.

A S$5,000 bond must also be put up by her mother and sister, who live with her in Singapore, to ensure her good behaviour during the six-month probation period.

Probation is usually offered to first-time offenders between 16 and 21 years old. May Moe Kyi was 21 years old at the time of the offences.

Probation does not result in a recorded criminal conviction and allows young offenders to continue with their education or employment while serving their sentences.

The prosecution has applied for a stay of execution of the sentencing to consider the judge's decision. The outcome of the application was not immediately clear.

During the circuit breaker, which ended on June 1 last year, people were not allowed to leave their homes except for essential purposes, such as buying groceries or doing essential frontline work, so as to stem the spread of Covid-19.

People were also not allowed to meet others from different households.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Joseph Gwee had sought a fine of at least S$12,000, arguing in his submissions that the primary consideration should be to deter the public from committing such offences during the ongoing pandemic.

DPP Gwee argued that a fine should be imposed because such cases are usually one-off incidents and not a result of criminal mindsets that need to be addressed through rehabilitation with probation.

“The state’s resources should not be overburdened with probation stints for breaches of the regulations.”

The woman’s lawyer Debbie Ooi had previously told the court in mitigation that her client’s actions were “precipitated by a genuine, albeit misguided, attempt to help her fiance who was going through anxiety, suffering from a respiratory infection and cooped up in his friend’s home”.

“Her sister underwent depression and she did not wish to lose another loved one,” Ms Ooi added.

The current status of the relationship between May Moe Kyi and Mr Francis was not made clear in court documents.

District Judge Kok said on Wednesday that although probation for adults should be the exception rather than the norm, May Moe Kyi shows a high capacity for reform and has a conducive environment for turning over a new leaf.

ABOUT THE CASE

May Moe Kyi committed the offences between April 7 last year, which was the first day of the circuit breaker period, and April 26.

The court heard that she left her home in Chua Chu Kang 10 times and took private-hire Grab rides to meet her boyfriend, Mr Ferris Frederick Francis, now aged 22. It is unclear if he has been prosecuted.

On eight of these occasions, she met him at the area outside his public flat along Bukit Batok Street 24, where they did “jumping jacks, lunges and other cardiovascular exercises”, the court heard.

She would then spend time at his home before leaving.

The court also heard that on two occasions, she had gone to his place to play games and watch movies with him.

Once, on April 25, she went to Yew Tee Point mall to get food for herself and Mr Francis before heading to his place.

The next day, she went to his house again and spent more than 11 hours outside her own home.

For each charge, she could have been fined up to S$10,000 or jailed for up to six months, or punished with both.