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Woman allegedly left hotel room during SHN by climbing balcony

The entrance to Sentosa Island. (PHOTO: Yahoo News Singapore / Dhany Osman)
The entrance to Sentosa Island. (PHOTO: Yahoo News Singapore / Dhany Osman)

SINGAPORE — A Singaporean woman was charged in court on Friday (30 July) after she climbed up to the balcony of another room while serving her Stay-Home Notice at a hotel in Sentosa.

Jin Chensu, 39, also allegedly left her room at Shangri-la Rasa Sentosa Resort for a second time without a mask and lurked along the common corridor of her hotel facility until she was discovered by hotel staff.

She faces two charges under the Infectious Diseases Act and two charges under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020.

According to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, Jin had returned to Singapore from Cambodia on 4 October last year and was served with an SHN from 4-18 October. She was briefed about her obligations under the SHN, including not leaving her dedicated facility during her SHN, and was brought to a hotel in Sentosa.

Jin allegedly left her room without a mask on 6 October, from 7.18pm to 7.23pm. She is said to have climbed to the balcony of a room on the upper floor and remained there for five minutes before climbing down to her own balcony.

Three days later, Jin allegedly left without a mask again from 1.35pm to 2.02pm. She loitered along the corridor until she was found by hotel staff some 25 minutes later. She was then escorted back to her room.

Appearing in court via videolink, Jin asked that her "previous composition" be reinstated, as she had failed to accept it earlier due to a "communication error". District Judge Lorraine Ho told her to do it at a later date.

The prosecution applied to have Jin remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for two weeks, However, Jin asked if it was possible to follow up with her own psychiatrists instead in the interest of privacy. She also said she was not a flight-risk and asked to return home.

"I do have my regular psychiatrist. I wonder is it in the best interest of privacy... I have been following up regularly. I wonder (if it is) possible that I continue to seek consultation from them instead of (IMH)," she said.

In reply, DJ Ho said that the IMH stint was a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation so it was mandatory.

Jin will return to court on 13 August.

Those who fail to comply with SHN requirements may be jailed up to six months or fined up to $10,000, or both. While those who fail to wear masks outside of their residence may face the same penalty.

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