Indian-origin man fined for breaching 'stay home' notice in Singapore

Singh, a retired technician, was given a medical certificate and issued an advisory to 'stay at home' for his respiratory infection -- which was not yet confirmed as coronavirus. The court heard that Singh was examined and diagnosed as suffering from an "acute upper respiratory infection".

A 63-year old Indian-origin Singapore citizen was fined 5,000 Singapore dollars on Wednesday for breaching his coronavirus 'stay at home' notice, according to a media report. Dharamnath Singh was fined on one charge of exposing others to the risk of COVID-19, while four similar charges were taken into consideration during the sentencing by a local court, Channel News Asia reported. Singh, a retired technician, was given a medical certificate and issued an advisory to 'stay at home' for his respiratory infection -- which was not yet confirmed as coronavirus.

The court heard that Singh was examined and diagnosed as suffering from an "acute upper respiratory infection". The doctor issued him a medical certificate (MC) for five days from April 6 to April 10. The MC included the remarks: "Stay Home Notice - advised to stay at home during the period of the MC".

The doctor had told Singh that he was required by law to stay at his home during the period of the MC and was not allowed to leave for any purpose other than to seek medical attention. He was also told to opt for home delivery services or get others to help him with his daily necessities, and given a number for assistance from the People's Association, a grassroot community body, if required.

Singh suspected he had not contracted the coronavirus. When told that he had to stay at home during his MC period, Singh tried to cancel the consultation, accepting the MC reluctantly only after the doctor said he would have to call the police if Singh did not comply.

Singh left home that very night to buy dinner from a coffee shop nearby. His son, who stays with him, told the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority on April 10 that Singh had left their home even though he had been ordered to stay in. Singh claimed that his son did not offer to buy food for him despite knowing he was ill.

Referring to the four charges taken into consideration, the prosecutor said Singh had left his home twice every day for the four remaining days of his MC, to buy lunch and dinner. The prosecutor had asked for a fine of between 5,000 Singapore dollar to 6,000 Singapore dollar, noting that Singh had worn a mask when leaving the house on only five of these occasions, omitting the face covering on three occasions.

However, the prosecutor acknowledged that Singh had "proceeded with the task with haste" and was in public for "extremely short duration". For exposing others to the risk of infection, he could have been jailed for up to six months, fined up to SGD10,000, or both, said Channel reported.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)