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Man who dined out on bak kut teh while on stay-home notice pleads guilty in first such case

SINGAPORE: A man who breached his stay-home notice to go out to run errands and eat bak kut teh pleaded guilty on Thursday (Apr 16) to exposing others to the risk of infection in the first case of its kind.

Alan Tham Xiang Sheng, 34, did not go home immediately when he landed in Singapore from Myanmar and when he did go home, he did not remain there. Instead, he appeared in public several times over a four-hour period in behaviour labelled “blatantly irresponsible” by the prosecutors.

This is the first prosecution for a person exposing others to the risk of infection by breaching a stay-home notice, the court heard.

Singapore has been fighting the spread of COVID-19 since early this year, and the World Health Organization declared the escalating situation a worldwide pandemic on Mar 12.

From Mar 16, all travellers entering Singapore with recent travel history to certain countries were issued a 14-day stay-home notice upon arrival in the country.

Tham arrived at Changi Airport Terminal 3 from Myanmar on SQ997 on Mar 23. He cleared customs and proceeded to a hall, where an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer asked him about his travel history.

He issued Tham a stay-home notice, which indicated that Tham was required to stay at home for 14 days, a precautionary measure to minimise the risk of additional imported COVID-19 cases.

The notice said he had to remain in his place of residence at all times during the two-week period and could not leave even to purchase food and essentials.

It added that Tham should minimise contact with others and avoid having visitors at his residence.

Tham signed an acknowledgement slip confirming he had received the notice and understood that he could be prosecuted for non-compliance.

"At no point in time did (the ICA officer) make any representation to the accused that the stay-home notice commenced on Day 1 of his arrival, which is Mar 24," said Deputy Public Prosecutors Kenneth Chin and Norman Yew.

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WHERE THAM WENT THAT SAME DAY

Tham placed the notice in his bag and left. He met his girlfriend, 36-year-old Hooi Yin Jia, and went to Kopitiam at Terminal 3 for a meal.

After eating, Ms Hooi booked a private-hire car and both of them went to Peninsula Plaza where Tham changed his leftover Myanmar currency to Singapore currency.

After this, Ms Hooi booked another car and they went to Tham's place, arriving in the evening.

Two hours later, the couple went out for dinner as Tham had a craving for bak kut teh.


must have fucked for 2 hours

They boarded a bus and went to Kampung Admiralty at Block 676, Woodlands Drive 71.

Tham took photos of his bak kut teh meal and posted them on social media, but was quickly chastised by his friends.

They reminded him that he should not be out in public during his stay-home notice period, leaving comments like "very upsetting to see someone I know do such a thing!", "Dude dude dude DUDE. Not a responsible move" and "please stay at home and be socially responsible. It doesn't matter what day the stay-home notice starts, the virus waits for no one."

DID NOT GO HOME DESPITE BACKLASH, WENT TO FAIRPRICE

Despite receiving such comments, Tham did not go home immediately. He spent about 45 minutes at the hawker centre, responding to his friends online and finishing his meal.

He then went to a FairPrice supermarket to buy groceries with his girlfriend before returning home at about 10pm.

He did not wear a face mask or take any measures to reduce his exposure to members of the public, court documents said.

READ: What the law says about having to wear a mask when outside your home
The photos of Tham's bak kut teh meal went viral on social media and were reported on various platforms.

A team of ICA officers checked on Tham at his home on Mar 25 and Tham told them that he had left his home two days earlier to have dinner with his girlfriend, prompting investigations.

Tham pleaded guilty to one charge of exposing the public to the risk of being infected by the coronavirus.