SINGAPORE: During Singapore’s “circuit breaker” on May 23, a migrant worker who was a suspected coronavirus case allegedly left a car park at Singapore General Hospital where he was to wait for the result of his COVID-19 test, walked towards Tiong Bahru and took a public bus to Lower Delta Road.
From there, he is said to have boarded a taxi to Changi Airport Terminal 1 where he spoke to airport staff and loitered for about four hours.
AdvertisementAdvertisementParthiban Balachandran, a 25-year-old Indian national, was charged on Wednesday (Nov 18) with three counts under the Infectious Diseases Act.
According to charge sheets, Parthiban, a suspected contact of COVID-19 cases, had also left Jurong Penjuru Dormitory 1 on Jun 16 to travel to Changi Airport by taxi. The dormitory was at the time gazetted as a COVID-19 isolation area.
At the airport, he spoke to staff about buying a plane ticket to India and slept there, charge sheets stated.
He is also accused of travelling to Tampines, where he entered a flat belonging to one of his relatives.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAccording to charge sheets, he was out of the dormitory for approximately 30 hours, from about 5.50am on Jun 16 until about noon the next day.
Parthiban - who is being represented pro bono by Invictus Law Corporation - was expected to plead guilty on Wednesday, but will return to the State Courts at a later date for a pre-trial conference due to a pending investigation against him.
Earlier this year, amid a rising number of COVID-19 cases, all migrant worker dormitories were gazetted as isolation areas to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
If convicted, Parthiban faces a fine of up to S$10,000, up to six months' jail or both, for contravening the Infectious Diseases Act.
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