2 men charged after one allegedly left hotel room while on stay-home notice to join the other

SINGAPORE — Two men were charged in court on Friday (Aug 20) after one of them allegedly left his room multiple times while serving his stay-home notice at a hotel, before joining the second man in his hotel room.

Thanasegaran Elancharan, 26, was given 10 charges for exposing others to the risk of Covid-19 and failing to wear a mask when he left his room.

Co-accused Yeo Ee Kai, 25, was handed a single charge of conspiring with Thanasegaran by allowing him to enter Yeo's room and remain there for about one-and-a-half hours, a breach of the stay-home notice conditions.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a statement that the two men arrived in Singapore from the Dominican Republic on Apr 30 and were served stay-home notices from that date to May 21.

They were told they could not leave their rooms in the dedicated facility, nor to have any visitors while they were serving the notice.

The two men were taken to Holiday Inn Singapore in Orchard City Centre and given separate rooms.

However, Thanasegaran is accused of leaving his hotel room multiple times in the early hours of May 11.

While not wearing a mask, he left room 354 and loitered along the third-floor common corridor from 2.43am to 2.53am, charge sheets stated.

At 2.54am, he collected a whisky bottle he left in front of room 355, before walking to room 350 and knocked on the door.

Yeo is accused of letting Thanasegaran into his room, where he allegedly stayed until 4.23am.

Thanasegaran then left Yeo's room and is accused of loitering along the corridor again while unmasked.

Thanasegaran is set to plead guilty in September, while Yeo will return to court that month for a further mention of his case.

In its statement, ICA said strict compliance with stay-home notice requirements is key to safeguarding the health and safety of Singapore's population.

First-time offenders who breach stay-home notice requirements can be jailed up to six months, fined up to S$10,000, or both. The penalties are the same for failing to wear a mask. CNA

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