Man who flouted stay-home notice to eat bak kut teh charged in court

A man's craving for bak kut teh landed him in the soup, as he was charged on Tuesday (April 7) for breaching a stay-home notice (SHN).

Alan Tham Xiang Sheng, 33, had shared photos of his meal on Facebook after returning from a three-day holiday to Myanmar on March 23.

His post sparked a backlash on social media, with many people calling him out for his irresponsible behaviour.

The online furore even caught the attention of Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam, who called for the case to be investigated, warning that those caught flouting SHN rules will be charged in court.

Upon his return, Tham was served an SHN which meant that he was supposed to stay home from March 23 to April 6.

However, he went to several places — a food centre at Terminal 3 of Changi Airport, Peninsula Plaza in North Bridge Road, Kampung Admiralty Hawker Centre and NTUC FairPrice supermarket in Woodlands Drive 71 — between 3.40pm and 10pm on March 23.

He had thought that his stay-home notice started the day after his return, Tham said.

The stay-home notice, issued to all travellers returning from abroad since March 20, requires them to remain home at all times.

They are not allowed to go out, even if it is to purchase food and essentials. They're also asked to avoid contact with the people they live with, and are not allowed to have visitors to their residences.

The stay-home notice was introduced as a measure to curb the spread of the coronavirus in Singapore.

Tham is one of two Singaporeans who were charged for breaching stay-home notices.

Another man, Palanivelu Ramasamy, 48, was given an SHN by an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officer on March 21.

He was supposed to stay in his Towner Road flat for two weeks but allegedly left his residence "without reasonable excuse" at around 3.45pm nine days later, according to court documents.

Palanivelu was said to have taken public transportation to and from Goldhill Plaza, near Newton Road, where he went around delivering newspapers.

Both men indicated that they will plead guilty to their charges, and will be back in court on April 16.

Under the Infectious Disease Act, if found guilty, they can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $10,000.

lamminlee@asiaone.com