“Lying will always land you in trouble”.
That’s the advice my grandfather gave me when I was just four years old. Unfortunately, I thought he meant lying down, which is why I’ve been sleeping while standing against the wall for the last 24 years.
But now that I know what my grandfather really meant, I can say with certainty that he was a wise man indeed.
Lying will indeed always land you in trouble, especially when you’re lying to the authorities.
Chinese Couple Omitted Information From Contact Tracers
One Chinese couple who came to Singapore in January is in a bit of a pickle.
The husband, Hu Jun, who’s a Wuhan native, tested positive for Covid-19 soon after arriving in the country, and the authorities naturally wanted to trace his steps so they could identify other close contacts and place them under quarantine.
The only problem was that Hu, 38, and his wife 36-year-old wife Shi Sha, weren’t exactly forthcoming with the authorities.
After arriving in Singapore on 22 January, Hu said he stayed with his wife in Loft @ Nathan, a condominium located near River Valley Road.
Once Hu was confirmed to have Covid-19, his wife, Shi, was served an isolation order because she was a close contact.
After all, they had stayed in the same house the whole time, right?
According to CNA, Shi said she and her husband had taken a cab home after he arrived in Singapore on 22 Jan and stayed home the whole time until 29 Jan, when they had to go to the Singapore General Hospital (SGH).
This was a lie.
Shi claims that Hu only went out of the house on 24 Jan to go for a walk during this period.
This was also a lie.
When Shi was asked by an MOH officer for details of the taxi she supposedly took from the airport, she was fuzzy on the details.
And even though she claimed the couple took a “blue taxi” to SGH, the authorities couldn’t identify any blue taxis when they went through surveillance footage.
Wait, so what actually happened?
Exposed
Contact tracers handed Shi’s phone over to LTA to ascertain if she had actually booked a cab, but they found that the couple had taken a Grab instead.
On Wednesday, the Grab driver in question took the stand, and confirmed the couple in court did indeed ride in his car.
He said that he picked the couple up around lunchtime on 22 Jan from Shi’s home at Loft @ Nathan and drove them to the Mercure Singapore on Stevens hotel in Stevens Road.
As to how he was so sure about the identity of the accused couple, the driver said he remembers them because they paid $100 for a S$7 fare.
When they got (in) the car, (I noticed) they were from overseas, from China, and it was a short distance. They paid me S$100 and I had to give them the change of S$93, and that is very rare, because most of the customers would go cashless,” he said.
He said he believed the couple were from abroad because of their accent.
“I could tell they are from China, because from many years of experience driving Grab, I could distinguish their accent, that it’s not a local accent.”
Went For Property Viewing
During that period from 22 Jan to 29 Jan, when the couple claimed to be at home, they travelled to:
- Long Beach Seafood in Stevens Road around lunchtime on 22 Jan
- Marina One Residences on the same day
- Chinese embassy in Tanglin Road on 24 Jan
- Ngee Ann City and the InterContinental Hotel later that night
- Studio M Hotel on 28 Jan
It’s almost as if they wanted to make sure every spot in Singapore was doused in the coronavirus.
Then, a property agent and friend of Shi’s took the stand and said that after having lunch with the couple at Long Beach Seafood on 22 Jan, they headed to a condominium for a property viewing in two separate cars – the agent’s car and a Grab vehicle that Shi booked.
Well, as the saying goes, “the best time to buy a house is when you might have an infectious disease and were told by the government to stay at home”.
The trial is set to continue for the rest of the week, but things are not looking good for the couple.
If found guilty, both husband and wife face up to six months’ jail, a maximum S$10,000 fine or both, for each charge, reported CNA.
Shi is facing four charges, and her husband is contesting one charge.
Like my grandfather said: “Lying will always land you in trouble”.
Would you be jailed for being half-naked in public? Well, the answer will shock you. Seriously. Watch this to the end and you'll understand:
