SINGAPORE — A 38-year-old man was charged on Friday (March 5) with breaching his stay-home notice by leaving his hotel to meet his wife on two occasions.

Bai Fan, a United States national and Singapore permanent resident (PR), faces two charges under the Infectious Diseases (Covid-19 — Stay Orders) Regulations 2020.

His wife is also a PR but was not on stay-home notice, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a statement on Friday.

Bai arrived in Singapore on Sept 19 last year from China after transiting in Hong Kong. He was issued a 14-day stay-home notice from Sept 19 to Oct 3, the ICA said.

Court documents showed that Bai stayed in a room at Fairmont Hotel on Bras Basah Road, which is a dedicated stay-home notice facility.

On Sept 19, he was allegedly picked up from the hotel by his wife at around 7.45pm. They were together in the car in the vicinity until about 9.30pm.

The next day at about 7pm, Bai was picked up by his wife again. The couple proceeded to spend about five hours in the car, in the vicinity as well as in a car park nearby, before Bai returned to his hotel after midnight.

If convicted, Bai may be fined up to S$10,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.

The ICA said that foreigners may face “further administrative actions”, including having their permits and passes to remain or work in Singapore revoked or shortened.

It said that anyone who does not comply with stay-home requirements — including those who tamper with or remove the electronic monitoring device, or both — will be liable to prosecution under Covid-19 laws.