Three men charged with kayaking to Pulau Ubin to camp, fish there during circuit breaker

SINGAPORE — Three Singaporean men were hauled to court on Monday (May 18) for illegally camping at Pulau Ubin during the circuit breaker.

Aside from violating circuit breaker measures, Mohamed Hafiz Mat Nadar, 36, Rizani Sham Mohamed Hussin, 38, and Zulman B Mashonain, 38, were also charged with illegally entering Pulau Ubin’s Chek Jawa Wetlands Park on April 13.

Individuals need approval from the National Parks Board (NParks) to enter the area on the offshore island.

Hafiz faces two charges under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020 and five other charges under the Parks and Trees Regulations.

Rizani and Zulman face one extra charge of using a fishing rod to catch fish at the park.

Court documents did not reveal how the men were caught.

They had allegedly met at Pasir Ris Carpark E at about 7pm on April 13, then kayaked to Chek Jawa. They were then said to have hung a hammock across two trees and camped there till around 10am the next day.

During that period, they were also accused of lighting a campfire.

On Monday, Hafiz told the court that they had been stopped by a National Parks Board officer, who told them fishing was not allowed. Hafiz did not specify where this was.

“But we told him we (were) going to Pulau Ubin for the activities; hence he did not advise further. If he had done so, we would have cancelled the activities. We did not see any signs prohibiting (such activities)... the NParks website did not state accordingly, too,” he claimed.

The three men said that they intended to plead guilty to their charges, and will return to court on June 3.

If convicted under the Covid-19 laws, they could each be jailed up to six months, fined up to S$10,000, or face both penalties.

If convicted under the Parks and Trees Regulations, they could be fined up to S$2,000 for each charge.

Rizani and Zulman could be fined up to S$5,000 if convicted of using a hunting device to illegally capture animals in a public park.