Wuhan Woman Who’s Accused of Lying to MOH Felt like ‘Chicken Talking to Duck’ When Talking to COVID-19 Contact Tracer

Analogies are like pancakes; the good ones are always tasty.

While my analogy above may not make a lot of sense, good analogies can help illustrate one’s point.

This is especially important when you’re being prosecuted in court.

So, for example, instead of saying she had trouble communicating, this woman on trial used a rather amusing analogy involving chickens and ducks instead.

Wuhan Woman Who’s Accused of Lying to MOH Felt like ‘Chicken Talking to Duck’ When Talking to COVID-19 Contact Tracer

The woman from Wuhan, China, who was accused of lying to contact tracers now claims she had difficulty communicating with the contact tracer.

It was like “a chicken talking to a duck”, she said.

It is true, that I have never seen a chicken having a conversation with a duck, but I have also never seen two chickens conversing with one another.

In any case, we get her point. 

Trouble began last year when the woman – Shi Sha – and her husband Hu Jun were found to have withheld information from contact tracers.

Hu had tested positive for COVID-19 on 31 Jan last year after he arrived in Singapore from Wuhan. He was hospitalised and later discharged on 19 Feb after recovering from the virus.

The problem wasn’t that Hu got infected, but that he and his wife had provided differing accounts of their activities between 22 Jan and 29 Jan to contact tracers.

The contact tracer who spoke to Shi, Georgina Lim, told the court that Shi said she had queued at a taxi stand with Hu after picking him up from the airport.

Shi disputed this in court, however, claiming that it was “impossible” for her to have said that.

She explained that she had hired a minibus to transport her husband along with two friends and their family members who arrived on the same flight.

She added that she tried “very hard” to understand Ms Lim, but that her words and phrases, as well as their sequence, were “a bit” confusing.

The diction of a duck, some would say.

Since she couldn’t understand what Ms Lim was trying to say, Shi claims she didn’t know what she had done wrong.

She added that she and her husband had chosen to go to the hospital and had treated every phone call from the Ministry of Health seriously.

Facing Three Charges

Shi is currently facing three charges for allegedly providing false information to contact tracers.

She and her husband are also contesting one charge of withholding information from a contact tracer.

Their trial began last August, with Hu finally taking the stand in January this year.

Shi is expected to continue her testimony in court today (9 July).

If the couple are found guilty, they face up to six months’ imprisonment, a fine of up to S$10,000, or both.

Featured Image: Google Maps