International Student on Exchange Program with NUS Made Fake Travel Declaration & Breached LOA

The COVID-19 situation in Singapore rages on, with a spike in the number of confirmed cases here, as predicted by the Singapore COVID-19 task force.

Despite that, some still aren’t taking things seriously:

International Student on Exchange Program with NUS Made Fake Travel Declaration & Breached LOA

The Dean of Students, Associate Professor Leong Ching announced that a foreign exchange student has had her Student Exchange Programme with the National University of Singapore (NUS) terminated.

This came after she allegedly breached her leave of absence (LOA). But that’s not all.

She also made a false travel declaration.

According to the update, the student has received an official reprimand and a report sent to her home university.

As you can see, NUS is taking things very seriously. In fact, this is far from the first disciplinary action NUS has dished out on its students for one awful crime: breaching their leave of absences (LOA).

Just last month, an NUS student was given a one-month suspension for breaching his LOA by attending lectures.

The student might’ve just wanted to avoid missing lessons, but at the end of the day, he’s endangering his other peers with his selfish act.

This is what the update says:

Dear Students:

An international exchange student had breached her LOA and made a false travel declaration. The Board of Discipline has terminated her Student Exchange Programme with NUS and she will return to her home university.

She has been officially reprimanded and a report sent to her home university.

It’s no wonder that things are getting serious since there was a confirmed case of the COVID-19 on-campus just recently.

Professor Infected By COVID-19 In NUS 

Just last month on 13 February, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced that a professor at NUS had contracted the COVID-19.

Following this, NUS promptly implemented several measures. The 54-year-old professor had had no travel history to China and was linked to the cluster associated with the Grace Assembly of God churches.

The school then “thoroughly disinfected” the areas that the professor had visited which include the School of Design and Environment (SDE) where he works.

“We have immediately ramped up the frequency of cleaning at SDE, including enhanced cleaning from once to twice a day for the school’s studios and high traffic areas.”

“We have also increased the cleaning frequency of restrooms in SDE from twice a day to four times a day.”

Anyone who interacted with the professor was also put on mandatory LOA though they have not been identified as close contacts by MOH.

Thus, you can see why they’re taking firm action against the student who breached her LOA.

COVID-19 Situation In Singapore

7 March updates of the COVID-19 showed 8 new cases, with 4 being linked to the SAFRA Jurong cluster.

They include a 66-year-old male Singaporean, a 56-year-old female Singaporean, a 60-year-old male Singaporean and a 62-year-old female Indonesian national.

In total, the number of cases linked to the SAFRA Jurong cluster has increased to 21 cases. Thus, precautionary measures were put into place including a 14-day suspension of all activities and classes attended by the confirmed cases at the affected community clubs and residents’ committee.

The total number of cases as of 7 March is 138. Out of this, 90 have made a full recovery and are discharged. The number of people in ICU is 8 while the other patients are either stable or improving.

What You Can Do

You can subscribe to Gov.sg WhatsApp service for the latest COVID-19 updates, and do not attend gatherings when ill since many clusters emerge because someone sick attends a gathering.

Do remember to practice good hygiene and if you are sick, do visit a doctor and stay at home.

And if you have an LOA, follow it.