This might be shocking to you: do you know that as of 27 April 2020, there have been over 138 investigations into breaches of stay orders or stay-home notices?
Just when you think that it’s uncommon for people to go to jail for having bak kut teh or be fined $1,500 for a prata, it turns out that some people just really can’t keep their butt at home.
And this is a story of Mr Chong Chun Wah, a 47-year-old man who couldn’t resist some food from Jurong East and Bukit Batok.
Man Jailed for 5 Weeks After Leaving House 3 Times During SHN Despite Being Caught Once
Chong is being charged today (6 May) for breaching his SHN and was sentenced to five weeks’ jail.
So, what happened?
Chong, who works as a store packer, had come back to Singapore from Batam back on 17 March. He was then issued a stay-home notice by an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officer, and ordered to stay home from 17 March to 31 March.
He had understood the order, acknowledged it by signature and then headed home soon after.
But Chong hadn’t been exposed because he posted an image on Facebook.
Instead, on 24 March, ICA officers went to his house to do a spot check, only to realise he wasn’t home.
When he returned, he claimed that he had gone to buy food from a coffeeshop from Jurong East that was three to four bus stops away. Unless he’s just bought a new pair of shoes and would like to test it, he should have taken a bus instead.
Nevertheless, the officers reminded him of the importance of the notice.
So you think that’d be the end of the story…except it wasn’t.
Four days later, on 28 March, he went downstairs to check his letterbox.
And on the next day, on 29 March, the fellow went to a nearby coffeeshop to buy food again. His explanation?
It wasn’t crowded.
Send a Clear Message to SHN and ALL Bak Kut Teh Lovers: Don’t Test The System
The prosecutor (think of a prosecutor as a lawyer for the Government) said that “unless there is an immediate change in attitude and behaviour by certain members of the public about the seriousness of compliance with the law, the number of breaches, and potentially the number of COVID-19 cases in Singapore, will rise.”
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And therefore, he requested for at least 7 weeks’ jail for Chong to “to send a clear message to the public that breaches of stay-home notices will not be tolerated, and that severe punishments will be meted out.”
In other words, don’t pray pray because no mercy one.
Chong had pleaded for leniency, and would be serving his sentence a day later after settling some matters for his two-year-old son.
Well, two meals and one letterbox for 5 weeks of jail: worth it?
Definitely not.
Just ask someone who loves Bak Kut Teh.
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