Three men who hosted farewell party for colleagues during Phase 1 of Singapore's reopening get fined

SINGAPORE: Three men who hosted a farewell party for their colleagues during Phase 1 of Singapore's reopening, when social gatherings were still restricted, were fined on Friday (Jul 24).

Malaysians Kalairasu Engaidurai, 27, and Murugan Supramaniyam, 25, were each fined S$3,000, while 25-year-old Sugumar Govindan was fined S$3,500, as he had also met six other people at a playground.

The court heard that the three men lived in the same flat with three other colleagues, Malaysians David Elanggo, 24, Inderjeet Singh Ladman Singh, 23, and Sanmugahnantan Kothandaraman, 30. 

They all worked at the same company, which was not identified in court documents.

A farewell party was organised on Jun 11 for two of their colleagues, Malaysians Kamal Raj Subramaniam, 34, and 36-year-old Saravanan Amariah, as it was their last day of work.

The party was held at the home shared by the six men, who invited six other colleagues including the ones leaving the company.

They gathered at the flat to celebrate from 8pm on Jun 11, when it was Phase 1 of the "circuit breaker" and restrictions on social gatherings had not been fully lifted yet.

The men drank alcohol and played music loudly during the three-hour party, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Eugene Teh.

Sometime before 11pm, a neighbour noticed a group of men behaving rowdily outside the unit and feared that a fight was about to take place.

She called the police, who went down to the location.

Before they arrived, Sugumar had left the unit with six other people to smoke and chat with them at a nearby playground.

When the police arrived, they saw the men talking and laughing at the playground, and none of them had their face masks on.

Kalairasu, Murugan and Sugumar each pleaded guilty to one charge each of permitting others to enter their residence for a social gathering for a purpose that was not permitted. 

Sugumar had a second charge taken into consideration for meeting the six other people at the playground for an unpermitted social purpose.

MEN AWARE OF THE LAWS BUT BROKE THEM: PROSECUTOR

The prosecutor sought the fines that were eventually meted out, noting that it is "critical" that individuals keep contact with each other to a minimum.

Criminalising social gatherings specifically addresses the need to reduce unnecessary interaction, said Mr Teh.

The three men were fully aware of the laws but chose to break them, and the farewell party involved "the congregation of a sizable group of attendees", said the prosecutor.

While noting that they had pleaded guilty, Mr Teh said they had been caught red-handed by the police.

"We are still in the midst of an unprecedented crisis which has dealt a heavy blow to Singapore’s economy and way of life. There is no definite end point in sight and the public cannot afford to be complacent," he said. 

For breaking COVID-19 regulations, the men could have been jailed for up to six months, fined up to S$10,000, or both.

The cases for the other men are pending.

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments

Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram