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Man charged with breaching stay-home notice 5 times, allegedly had lunch at open area

SINGAPORE — A 64-year-old man became the latest Singaporean to be charged on Monday (May 11) with breaching his stay-home notice, which are given to those returning from abroad to prevent imported Covid-19 cases.

Teo Say Leong, 64, told the court that he wants to plead guilty, saying he does not work and does not intend to get a lawyer.

Teo Say Leong, 64, told the court that he wants to plead guilty, saying he does not work and does not intend to get a lawyer.

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SINGAPORE — A 64-year-old man became the latest Singaporean to be charged on Monday (May 11) with breaching his stay-home notice, which is given to those returning from abroad to prevent imported Covid-19 cases.

Teo Say Leong returned from Indonesia on March 20 and was ordered to remain in his Jalan Sultan flat for two weeks until April 3, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a press release.

However, court documents showed that he allegedly left his home on five occasions between March 23 and 29.

ICA said that on each of the first four occasions, he spent about one hour outside, around his neighbourhood. Court documents showed that he was out between 6am and 8am each time.

On March 29, a team of ICA officers visited his home as part of enforcement checks and found that he was not there.

He had purportedly left to buy some lunch and went to an open area nearby to eat his food, and was out for about 50 minutes. When he returned, the ICA officers reminded him that he had to remain at home at all times during the stay-home notice period.

He faces one charge under the Infectious Diseases (Covid-19 - Stay Orders) Regulations 2020 and four charges under the Infectious Diseases Act.

He told the court that he intends to plead guilty and pleaded for leniency, saying he does not work and does not intend to get a lawyer. “I’m old, I’m sick and need to exercise,” he added.

The district judge told him it was not the appropriate time to give his mitigation. Teo will return to court on May 20 and is expected to admit to his charges then.

If convicted, he could be jailed up to six months, fined up to S$10,000, or both, on each charge.

So far, two individuals have been dealt with in court for breaching their stay-home notice. Alan Tham Xiang Sheng, 34, was jailed six weeks for doing so to have a bak kut teh (pork rib soup) meal, among other things.

The second person, 47-year-old Chong Chun Wah, was jailed five weeks after returning from Batam, Indonesia.

Another Singaporean — Tay Chun Hsien, 22 — was fined S$1,500 after breaching his quarantine order half an hour before it ended. His lawyer said that he had mistaken the end time as 12am when it was supposed to be 12pm.

Related topics

stay-home notice Covid-19 coronavirus court crime

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