Singapore: 6 weeks' jail for man who breached stay-home notice to eat bak kut teh

KUALA LUMPUR (April 23): A Singapore man who breached a stay-home notice (SHN) in the island republic and went for a bak kut teh (pictured) meal was sentenced to six weeks' jail, The Straits Times (ST) reported today.

Alan Tham Xiang Sheng, 34, pleaded guilty on April 16 to an offence under the Singapore’s Infectious Diseases Act.

ST reported that he was the first person to be convicted of “exposing others to the risk of infection by breaching an SHN”.

According to the report, Tham, came back to Singapore after a trip to Myanmar on March 23 and was served with an SHN. Under the SHN, he was supposed to stay home at all times from then until April 6.

He also “signed on a slip to acknowledge that he had received the SHN and to confirm that he was aware he could be prosecuted if he failed to comply with the notice”, said the report.

After being served with the SHN, he did not go “straight home” and met up with his girlfriend to have a meal at the food court at Terminal 3 of Changi Airport.

They then booked a private-hire car and went to Peninsula Plaza in North Bridge Road to visit a money changer. The couple then took another private-hire car to home.

About two hours later, the couple took a public bus to Kampung Admiralty Hawker Centre in Woodlands Drive 71 to have bak kut teh for dinner.

ST reported that he Tham snapped pictures of the meal and posted them on social media.

After dinner they went to a “nearby FairPrice supermarket” and Tham finally “returned home at around 10pm”.

Before handing down the sentence today, Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun said that Tham’s conduct was “socially reprehensible”, reported ST.

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