Prosecutor Roasted Lady Who Broke SHN, Asking Her If The Coronavirus Would Only ‘Wake Up The Next Day’

If you remember the Bak Kut Teh incident, you’ll know that the man tried to argue that he didn’t know he had to go home immediately.

Turns out, he wasn’t the only one to use the excuse.

And let’s just say that, just like last time, it didn’t work really well.

Thought SHN Would Start The Next Day

Esther Tan Ling Ying was pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Acting in the United Kingdom.

When she returned to Singapore on 23 Mar 2020, shortly after Singapore implemented the stay-home regime, she didn’t go home immediately.

Instead, she allegedly had a meal with her parents at the Orchid food court at Changi Airport terminal 1.

Thereafter, she went to the Clementi Family and Aesthetic Clinic for medication for her runny nose.

A few days later, she tested positive for COVID-19.

On 10 Mar 2021, when Tan was in court for her trial, she argued that she did not know she has to go home immediately.

Tan alleged that the Immigration and Customs Authority (ICA) officer did not tell her about the requirement and that it was not stated explicitly in the documents she was given.

Based on what her friends told her about SHN, she thought her stay-home-notice would begin the next day.

Moral of the story: never take advice from someone who doesn’t have to live with the consequences.

She later changed her position, claiming that she thought it starts on the same day, but only once she reached home.

Exposing Others To The Risk Of COVID-19

When cross-examining Tan, the prosecutor, Deputy Public Prosecutor Sanjiv Vaswani, asked why Tan had written on the statement that she was aware of having to return home immediately.

In response, Tan said that during the time, she was scared and her mind was “clouded”.

The prosecutor went on to assert that the information about having to return home immediately could only come from the ICA officer, given how it wasn’t noted in her stay-home documents.

The ICA officer had also testified that he had communicated that to her.

Mr Vaswani also accused Tan of knowing she has the flu and lied to the clinic about her travel history.

In response, Tan said she lied to the doctor about when she returned to Singapore but maintained that she went to the clinic for her sinus issue.

When questioned why she didn’t get an over-the-counter nasal spray, she simply replied that her sinus condition is too serious for that.

She added that she was not aware that her SHN representative can get her the medication she required.

CCTV footage of Tan coughing with her mask down was also shown in court.

Prosecutor Roasted Lady Who Broke SHN, Asking Her If The Coronavirus Would Only ‘Wake Up The Next Day’

If you thought everything in court is all prim and proper, think again.

Prosecutors are humans too, and just like us, they’re prone to frustration and sarcasm.

While cross-examining Tan, Mr Vaswani pointed out that based on Tan’s logic of SHN starting the next day, does it mean that she believes that COVID-19 will only spread the next day?

“Were you under the impression that the virus was also suffering some form of jet lag and would only wake up the next day?”

The prosecutor asserts that Tan knew there were reasons to believe that she had contracted COVID-19 by the time she returned to Singapore.

She had allegedly shared with the doctor that several teachers and schoolmates in the UK had contracted COVID-19 after returning from Spain.

Tan denied the accusation and said that there were no COVID-19 cases in her school.

The case will resume on Friday.

If guilty of exposing others to the risk of infection with COVID-19, she can be jailed up to six months, fined up to S$10,000, or both.

But let’s face it: we just want to hear what the prosecutor will say next.

Poor girl should’ve just pleaded guilty right from the start.

Feature Image: Sorbis / Shutterstock.com