Dormitory director and suspected vice offender among 8 charged for COVID-19-related offences
SINGAPORE - A total of seven men and a woman were charged on Friday (15 May) with offences related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the circuit breaker measures.
Some of the offences involve the individuals visiting others for social gatherings during the circuit breaker period and letting others into their residences.
The seven men are Arvinish N Ramakrishnan, Permjit Singh Khazan Singh, Wong Teck Chye, Yee Choon Wah, Kumaran Roy Rajendran, Vijayan Pillay Sandarasegaran and Tan Han Yong. The woman is Cheng Fengzhao. The eight are aged between 23 and 76.
In a release issued on Friday evening, the Singapore Police Force said that members of the public should cooperate and comply with the instructions of enforcement officers, and SG clean and safe distancing ambassadors.
“The police will not tolerate any verbal or physical abuse of them. They are performing an important duty to keep us and our community safe,” it added.
If convicted of breaching of the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020, an offender may face up to six months’ jail and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
Cheng Fengzhao, 37
Cheng, a Chinese national, was arrested in an anti-vice operation at a condominium along Jalan Kemaman.
She faces two charges of letting a man, Foong Seow Peng, into her residence on 19 April and 5 May without reasonable excuse. She was also investigated for her involvement in vice activities.
She told the court that she intended to plead guilty and her mention has been fixed for 3 June.
Arvinish N Ramakrishnan, 23
Arvinish, a Malaysian, faces three charges on 19 April involving meeting another person not living in the same residence, leaving his residence, and drink driving.
Arvinish is said to have met a Siddhartha Gauthma Robat to drink alcohol at his own Yishun Central residence between 12am and 1am.
He then allegedly sent Siddhartha to the latter’s home at Block 288 Yishun Avenue 6 at 3.10am on his motorcycle. He allegedly left his residence without reasonable excuse to do so.
He is accused of riding his motorcycle under the influence of alcohol, with no less than 43 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. This exceeds the legal limit of 35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. Arvinish was arrested at Yishun Avenue 6.
Arvinish, who will return to court on 27 May, said he intends to plead guilty.
Permjit Singh Khazan Singh, 60
Permjit, a Singaporean, has the most number of charges, at 11.
He is accused of not wearing a mask over his nose and mouth on five occasions, at Sheng Siong supermarket along McNair Road on 19 April, outside DBS bank at Blk 101 Towner Road and at the footway leading toward Blk 4 St George’s Lane on 22 April, at the playground located at Block 3 St George’s Lane on 23 April and at Bendemeer Market and Food Centre on 27 April.
Permjit also has four charges pertaining to alleged offences on 12 April. These include sitting on a seat at Fort Canning Hill that was demarcated as not to be occupied, at 4.15pm.
After a senior manager from National Parks Board (NParks) approached him, Permjit hurled vulgarities at him and also pulled out a plank from a bench, causing damages amounting to $207.41 to NParks.
He then allegedly met a friend who did not live in the same house, Avtar Singh Towana Mahindar Singh, at a bus stop at 50 Stamford Road to drink at 7.20pm. Both men were issued a notice of composition of $300 for breaching safe distancing measures, but Permjit has not paid the fine.
Separately, Permjit is accused of assaulting two auxiliary police officers at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) at about 12.53am on 7 February, by hitting one on his head and another on her neck. The two officers had approached Permjit as he was creating a scene at the SGH’s A&E department.
Permjit has been remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for psychiatric observation and will return to court on 29 May.
Wong Teck Chye, 46
Wong, a Singaporean, faces four charges, including two breaches of the Road Traffic Act by exceeding the speed limit on the expressway and driving while under the influence of drink.
He was allegedly stopped by Traffic Police for speeding along Tampines Expressway towards Pan-Island Expressway on 25 April and failed a breathalyser test. The SPF said he had admitted to consuming alcohol earlier at a friend’s place at 9 Selegie Road.
According to Wong’s charge sheet, he had dinner and drinks with an Aw Mei Ling at her Selegie Road residence at about 4pm on 24 April.
At about 12.45am on 25 April, he purportedly contravened circuit breaker measures again by sending food to the same household.
He then drove along Tampines Expressway at a speed of 133kmh, exceeding the speed limit of 90kmh. According to his charge sheet, he was previously convicted of speeding on 31 October 2001. At the time, Wong allegedly had no less than 43 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, which exceeds the legal limit of 35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
Wong said he has a lawyer who will liaise with the prosecution. He will return to court on 29 May.
Yee Choon Wah, 52
Yee, a Singaporean, was handed four charges - two of which are related to circuit breaker breaches - via video link.
Around 6.30pm on 18 April, Yee allegedly left his residence without reasonable excuse and failed to wear a mask over his nose and mouth while at the level 6 common corridor of Block 32 Balam Road.
He allegedly became frustrated at smelling cigarette smoke coming from the two neighbours’ units.
He is said to have committed an act of mischief by using a golf club to smash the window of a unit at that level belonging to a Li Dao Cun. Minutes later, he purportedly smashed the window of another unit a few doors down, causing a glass shard to hit the right forearm of a Wong Yoke Kwan, who suffered from pain and redness as a result.
Yee faces a charge each of committing mischief and of committing a rash act which endangered human life for the offences involving the windows.
Yee said through a Mandarin interpreter that he had only stepped out to the corridor for a few seconds and that a witness had seen him wearing a mask. He told the court he intended to write to the prosecution to withdraw these two charges.
He added that he would plead guilty to the rash act offence.
His case has been fixed for a pre-trial conference on 29 May.
Kumaran Roy Rajendran, 29
Kumaran, a Singaporean, faces three charges of involving offences on 18 April around 2pm at Commonwealth Crescent Market. He is said to have failed to wear a mask over his nose and mouth, instead using a shirt collar to cover them.
At about 11am, two SG clean ambassadors spotted him without a mask and advised him to do so but Kumaran allegedly ignored them and walked away.
Later, at about 1.50pm, Kumaran was seen without a mask a second time but refused the ambassadors’ advice. Instead, he abused them by using vulgarities and a rude gesture on one, while pushing the other on the shoulder.
Kumaran told the court he intends to plead guilty, and will return to court on 3 June.
Vijayan Pillay Sandarasegaran, 41
Vijayan, a Singaporean, is said to have caused annoyance to people at Tampines Central branch of Singapore Post on 30 March at about 10am by telling the SingPost staff that he might have the coronavirus virus, coughing loudly without donning a face mask and by refusing temperature screening before entering the post office’s premises.
He is also accused of using threatening words against a man, a SingPost customer who voiced concern about his behaviour, and coughing at the man twice with the intention to harass him at about 10.24am.
Vijayan told the court that he intended to engage a lawyer for mitigation purposes.
“I never approach anyone for any reason, they approach me,” he said, adding that he needed some time to find a lawyer.
He also told the court that he worked at a club, which was closed.
He also apologised to District Judge Adam Nakhoda for appearing before him again. In reply, DJ Nakhoda said, “it’s okay”.
Vijayan will return to court on 2 June.
Tan Han Yong, 76
Tan, an Indonesian businessman, faces two charges of using abusive words towards two police officers at a foreign worker dormitory at 2 Kampong Ampat on 17 April. The police had responded to a call for assistance as Tan, a dormitory director, had behaved aggressively towards Ministry of Manpower officers who were conducting inspections at the dormitory.
At about 7.30pm that day, Tan is said to have used vulgar Hokkien words on a police officer despite repeated warnings to stop doing so.
Later at 8.28pm, Tan allegedly verbally abused another police officer at the Police Cantonment Complex in Mandarin.
The prosecution told the court that Tan faces a possible charge related to breaching COVID-19 measures by refusing to let a National Environment Agency officer into his premises for an inspection.
In relation to this, Tan said in Mandarin, “I welcomed (the officer) into premises to let him do the inspection. I have done business for so long, I have no reason not to cooperate with government officers. I just want to know what he is doing.”
Tan said he will not plead guilty and will be hiring his own lawyer. He also denied using abusive language.
His case has been fixed for a further mention on 22 May.
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