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Jail for hotel receptionist who repeatedly went to work while on MC during Covid-19 circuit breaker

SINGAPORE — After a guest who had tested positive for Covid-19 turned up at his workplace, Chan Foo Mun, who worked as a hotel receptionist, was told not to report to work if he was given a medical certificate (MC).

Chan Foo Mun, who works as a receptionist at J8 Hotel, said he did not want his pay to be deducted because he could not go to work.

Chan Foo Mun, who works as a receptionist at J8 Hotel, said he did not want his pay to be deducted because he could not go to work.

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  • A guest who tested positive for Covid-19 turned up at Chan Foo Mun’s workplace in January 2020
  • Chan's employers told staff members not to report to work if they were issued a medical certificate
  • Chan, who was issued a five-day MC and by law had to stay home during that period, still went to work 
  • He did not test positive for the coronavirus in the end

 

SINGAPORE — After a guest who had tested positive for Covid-19 turned up at his workplace, Chan Foo Mun, who worked as a hotel receptionist, was told not to report to work if he was given a medical certificate (MC).

However, when he was issued one after developing a cough and blocked nose, he still went to work at J8 Hotel in the Lavender Street area because he wanted to get paid.

Enforcement officers from the Ministry of Health soon paid him a visit, telling him to stay in his Ang Mo Kio flat for the duration of his five-day MC. However, he left home the next day to buy food at a hawker centre.

Chan, who ultimately did not test positive for the coronavirus, was sentenced to eight weeks’ jail on Tuesday (Aug 10).

The Singaporean, who turned 44 on Tuesday, pleaded guilty to two charges of flouting the Infectious Diseases Act. Another five similar charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

He committed his offences in April last year. At the time, the country was in the midst of the circuit breaker period that restricted movements and activities in order to stem the spread of Covid-19.

Individuals who presented themselves at clinics with acute respiratory infection symptoms had to undergo a swab test for Covid-19 and stay home for the entire five-day period.

In January last year, the boutique hotel had a guest who had tested positive for Covid-19. The hotel then put in place a policy requiring staff members who were unwell to see a doctor and for those issued an MC to stay home.

DID NOT WEAR MASK 

On April 19 last year, Chan went to the Care Family Clinic branch near his workplace.

He told the doctor that he had been suffering from a persistent cough and blocked nose for two to three days.

A doctor then told him that he had to stay home for the duration of the MC, emphasising that he was not allowed to leave home even to buy food.

After the consultation, the doctor asked Chan to wait outside to get his MC and medication. But Chan left without paying and went to work.

He continued to go to work for three days and deliberately did not tell his supervisor or colleagues about getting an MC.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Kenneth Kee told the court: “The accused had done so because “it was troublesome”; the accused knew of the hotel’s policy in force and he did not want his pay to be deducted as a result of his inability to go to work.”

The day after visiting the doctor, Chan left home for almost half a day, buying lunch and taking public transport along the way.

Closed-circuit television footage also captured him not wearing a face mask at the lift lobby of his public housing block.

On April 22, two officers from the Ministry of Health went to his place and questioned him about his visit to the clinic three days earlier.

Court documents did not state how his breaches were uncovered.

DPP Kee sought at least three months’ jail, arguing that Chan had “embarked on a deliberate course of action” that was in “reckless disregard of the public health and safety of others”.

In sentencing Chan, District Judge Jasvender Kaur said that she could not accept his lawyer Cory Wong’s argument that Chan was not derelict in his duties.

She added: “While I note the breaches were not committed due to frivolous reasons and he was concerned with his livelihood, this must be balanced with the fact that he was diagnosed with acute respiratory symptoms amid the circuit breaker, and he was prepared to place his own personal interests above the health of others whom he came into contact with.”

Chan could have been jailed for up to six months or fined up to S$10,000, or received both punishments, for each charge of breaking Covid-19 laws.

Related topics

court crime breach Covid-19 coronavirus stay-home notice hotel

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