COVID-19: Man charged with violating circuit breaker for illegal loanshark activity
SINGAPORE — A man was charged on Tuesday (26 May) with breaching circuit breaker measures while conducting illegal moneylending activities.
Chua Jun Yong, 20, who was earlier charged for acting for a loanshark, received an additional charge for leaving his residence at Bedok Reservoir Road without justification - two days after Singapore’s circuit breaker took effect. He is said to have left his residence between midnight and 6am to go to a flat at Holland Close on 9 April.
On that day, Chua allegedly locked the gate of a unit with a bicycle lock and used an indelible marker to scribble “O$P$” along with a name and phone number on the wall of the the seventh floor lift landing at about 1.49am. The incident constitutes a breach of the Moneylenders Act and is the subject of one of the seven charges he was previously handed.
His six other charges relate to driving a car without a license and insurance, and other alleged unlicensed moneylending activities, which occurred a day before the circuit breaker kicked in.
On 6 April, at about 1am, Chua allegedly went to a flat in Tampines Street 86 where he locked a gate with a bicycle lock and used a marker to scribble “O$P$” along with a name and phone number on the wall of the eighth floor lift landing. He is said to have done so on behalf of a loanshark known as “Jasper”.
About two hours later, he supposedly repeated the act at another flat at Hougang Avenue 4. This time he scribbled words with a marker on the second floor corridor.
Chua is also accused of driving without a license and insurance to commit the acts at Tampines. He is expected to plead guilty when he returns to court on 2 June.
Under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020, passed by Parliament on 7 April, individuals are not allowed to leave their residences without a reason.
If convicted of contravening the Act, Chua may be jailed up to six months, or fined up to $10,000.
Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore
More Singapore stories:
Court: Woman claims she sneezed due to 'bad odour' and not at security officer
'We are having an illegal gathering...so what?': Man who posted gathering online fined
Four sentenced for flouting Stay-Home Notices, quarantine order
COVID-19: 'Sovereign' woman faces two more charges, changes lawyer
Man leaves house with aim to steal undergarments during circuit breaker