British National Admits to Breaching SHN to Meet His Fiancee, Both to be Sentenced

Love can make you do stupid things.

Some examples include patiently waiting for someone who has no interest in you, ignoring red flags, and flying to South Africa to give your ex-girlfriend a human-sized teddy bear that you stitched by hand, hoping it would compensate for your flaws as a partner.

Reader: That last one seems oddly specific.

I just watch a lot of romance movies, dear reader.

Love in the time of corona isn’t exactly easy either, even if you happen to be in a healthy (unlike Covid… haha) relationship.

Thanks to quarantine measures, you could easily be separated from your lover if one of you is suspected of carrying the virus.

But of course, no one would breach quarantine measures and risk jail time just to see their partner, right?

Right?

British National Admits to Breaching SHN to Meet His Fiancee, Both to be Sentenced

A British national admitted to breaching his stay-home notice (SHN) at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore to meet his fiancee on another floor.

This took place in September last year, according to The Straits Times. 

Nigel Skea first arrived in Singapore on 20 Sep last year.

Like many other travellers in 2020, he was issued an SHN upon his arrival and was ferried to the Ritz-Carlton.

The 52-year-old then informed his fiancee, Agatha Maghesh Eyamalai, a 39-year-old Singaporean, and she reserved a separate room at the hotel.

As you know, the purpose of a SHN is to prevent you from interacting with others in case you’re carrying the coronavirus.

In spite of this, on 21 Sep at about 1am, Skea left his room to meet Agatha.

And get this: he wasn’t wearing a mask.

Looking for a route up to his lover, he tried to access the emergency staircase on level 14 but realised it could only be opened from his side.

Sad and probably unfulfilled, the man walked back to his hotel room only to find out that he was locked out.

Skea called the hotel’s reception counter for help and a staff member unlocked the door for him at 1.06am.

At this point, the man had two options:

1. Stay in his room until his SHN was over and then meet his fiancee

2. Literally anything but try to meet his fiancee again

Naturally, he tried to meet his fiancee again.

And it wasn’t a day or week after the first attempt.

He left his room at 2.22am on the same day, just over an hour after he first tried to see her.

This time, he used a piece of cardboard to keep his door ajar so he could return later.

The 52-year-old went up to Agatha’s room and they spent the night together, likely playing an intense game of Monopoly.

Caught By a Security Guard

Skea left at 11.13am the next day, but was unable to gain access to his floor.

When he walked down to the fourth storey, a security officer saw him and stopped him.

The jig, as they say, was up.

On Monday, Skea pleaded guilty to an offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act and another under the Infectious Diseases Act.

Agatha, his now-wife, pleaded guilty to an offence under the Infectious Diseases Act.

They will both be sentenced on 26 Feb.

Their defence lawyer said the pair had endured a “long separation” and flouted the rules because of their “emotionally vulnerable state”.

Feature Image: Google Maps