British man under SHN who left hotel room without mask to meet fiancee to be charged

Jessie Lim
The Straits Times
January 15, 2021

One man chose to spend time with his fiancee, another wandered around Geylang and went to work.

Both were supposed to be isolated and completing stay-home notices, and are set to charged on Friday (Jan 15) with allegedly breaching the requirements.

In one case, a Singaporean man - Abdul Rahman Mohamed Hanafiah, 71 - returning from Batam took public transport, spent time at various public places and went back to work during his stay-home notice, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on Friday.

In another, a British man - Nigel Skea, 52 - serving his stay-home notice at The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore in Marina Bay left his room on the 14th storey without wearing a mask on three occasions on Sept 21 last year.

On the last occasion, his fiancee - Agatha Maghesh Eyamalai, 39 - was with him. To meet her, he left his room at about 2am and took the stairs to the 27th storey where her room was located.

She was not subject to a stay-home notice and had booked a different room in the same hotel. Agatha will be charged with abetting Nigel's breach of his stay-home notice requirements.

Meanwhile, Abdul Rahman, who returned to the Republic on March 17, did not go to the address where he was supposed to serve his stay-home notice.

Instead, he took a bus and wandered around Geylang Serai, and visited Haig Road and Joo Chiat Complex, before spending the night in a Bedok housing estate.

The next day, he went back to work as a security officer and continued doing so until March 24. He had not informed his company or manager of his stay-home notice requirement.

The ICA reminded members of the public to comply with the stay-home notice requirements to safeguard the community's health and safety.

"All travellers are to comply with the prevailing public health regulations and requirements in Singapore," said the ICA.

Those who fail to comply, including people who tamper with or remove the electronic monitoring device, or both, during the stay-home notice period, will be liable to prosecution.

Violators can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for six months, or both.

Foreigners who do so may face further administrative action by the ICA or the Ministry of Manpower, and may have their permits and work passes cut short or revoked.

Members of the public can report information about those who fail to comply with stay-home notice requirements to the ICA at this website or call the ICA hotline on 6812-5555.