SINGAPORE: Two men were charged in court on Friday (Apr 17) with leaving their isolation quarters, in the first such cases during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Chinese national Liu Dufeng, 49, was given two counts under the Infectious Diseases Act, while Indian national Vardireddy Nageswara Reddy, 35, was given one charge.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe cases are unrelated and Vardireddy intends to plead guilty, while Liu wants to claim trial to one of the charges. Both men were unrepresented.
Vardireddy was ordered to be isolated at a location in Singapore, which was redacted from charge sheets, from Feb 16 to Feb 25.
However, he allegedly left the place between 8.10pm and 8.35pm on Feb 24, a day before completing the isolation period.
[h=3]READ: Singapore reports record 728 new COVID-19 cases, mostly from foreign worker dormitories[/h] AdvertisementAdvertisementLiu was suspected to be a contact of a COVID-19 case and was ordered to be isolated in another location redacted from charge sheets between Feb 12 and Feb 24.
However, he allegedly left the area at about 7pm on Feb 19 without permission, and did so again between 10.30am and 12pm on Feb 21.
Vardireddy told the court that he intends to plead guilty. Ministry of Health prosecutor Andre Moses Tan said the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) will take over the case but is waiting for the outcome of another similar case.
Liu told the court through an interpreter that his company told him to move to a nearby place as there was no space for him in the previous quarters and he was "merely following the company's instructions".
The prosecutor said he was aware of this, but said AGC would have taken this into consideration in its decision to charge him.
Both parties will return to court at a later date - Vardireddy for his guilty plea to be taken, and Liu for a pre-trial conference.
[h=3]READ: Man charged with breaching stay-home notice to meet friend[/h][h=3]READ: Man who dined out on bak kut teh while on stay-home notice pleads guilty in first such case[/h]The pair are the latest to be charged in court for COVID-19-related offences. Earlier on Friday, a man was charged with breaching his stay-home notice to see a friend, while another man pleaded guilty on Thursday to exposing others to the risk of infection by breaching orders to stay at home.
Under the Act, anyone who has an infectious disease or is suspected to be a case, carrier or contact can be ordered to be detained and isolated in a hospital or any other place for a period of time.
The penalties for leaving an isolation area without permission are up to six months' jail, a maximum S$10,000 fine, or both for a first-time offender.
Repeat offenders face double the jail time and fines.
[h=3]BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments[/h]Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
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