Woman Sentenced to 12 Weeks Jail for Exposing Others to COVID-19 & Even Lying to a GP

Whether you’re sick or not, when you’re issued a stay-home notice (SHN) after arriving in Singapore, there are two things you need to do immediately:

1. Go home or to the designated facility
2. Stay there

These instructions could not be simpler, yet time and time again, people flout these rules.

Typically, offenders breach their SHN by leaving their rooms in the middle of quarantine. In this particular case, the woman flouted her SHN right away by eating at a food court after clearing customs.

Worse, she later tested positive for COVID-19.

Woman Exposed Others to COVID-19 & Even Lying to a GP After Arriving In Singapore From UK

Before COVID-19 made its appearance, the protagonist in our story, Esther Tan Ling Ying, had been studying in London since 2017.

Following an advisory from the Singapore government, Tan returned to Singapore last year, before completing her studies.

Before her departure, Tan had been experiencing flu-like symptoms, and had lost her sense of taste and smell.

However, instead of seeking medical attention, Tan self-isolated until her departure.

When she landed in Singapore on 23 March last year, Tan still had no sense of taste or smell, and had a blocked nose as well.

As per the guidelines at the time, Tan was issued an SHN, and an officer from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) told her to go home immediately.

“Immediately” is the keyword here.

Despite that, Tan headed to the food court in Terminal 1 with her family instead, for a meal. She spent 30 minutes there.

But that wasn’t it. She also took an MRT train to Clementi, after which Tan and her mother visited Clementi Family and Aesthetic Clinic, near where they lived.

When she saw the doctor, Tan lied about her travel history, saying she had been in Singapore since January 2020, as she returned for Chinese New Year.

She did this just to get some medication.

Not just that, she even said she had avoided going to Britain because of the COVID-19 outbreak there, adding that she had “dodged a bullet”.

No bullet was dodged in the end, of course. Instead, it may have hit several people in the face.

Yes, seven days after landing in Singapore, Tan tested positive for COVID-19.

Jailed For 12 Weeks

Today, Tan was sentenced to jail for exposing others to the risk of COVID-19 infection.

Tan claimed she did not suspect she was infected with COVID-19, and that the SHN instructions were confusing.

The prosecution rubbished this argument, however, saying she must have been fully aware of the rules.

For her offence, Tan could have been sentenced up to six months in jail and fined up to S$10,000.

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