Commercial pilot jailed 4 weeks for breaching stay order to buy thermometer, face masks in Chinatown

SINGAPORE — A commercial cargo pilot employed by global postal service FedEx was sentenced to four weeks’ jail on Wednesday (May 13) for breaching his two-week stay order, after arriving in Singapore from Australia last month.

Brian Dugan Yeargan, a 44-year-old American, pleaded guilty to a single charge under the Infectious Diseases (Covid-19 — Stay Orders) Regulations 2020. 

Those given a stay order or stay-home notice are required to remain in their place of accommodation for two weeks to prevent the spread of imported Covid-19 cases.

The court heard that before arriving in Singapore, Yeargan declared that in addition to Australia, he had visited China, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan and the United States in the last two weeks.

Before submitting his online health declaration form, he acknowledged that he would be issued with a 14-day stay order notice.

He arrived on April 3 around 3am at Changi Airport Terminal 3. 

Along with two other commercial pilots, Yeargan was briefed by an immigration officer on the requirements of the stay-home notice and was given a copy of the notice served. 

A customer service agent then took the pilots to the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport hotel where she reminded them again that they should not leave their hotel room until April 17. 

The pilots, including Yeargan, nodded in response.

Yet, two days later, Yeargan left the hotel at about 11.15am and took the train to City Hall MRT Station. He then walked for about half an hour to get to the Chinatown Point shopping mall.

He visited at least four stores there, spending about five minutes at each. He bought a thermometer from one store and a few boxes of face masks from the other three.

He recollected that about 10 to 20 people were patronising each store, said Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) V Jesudevan.

At about 1.40pm, he was about to head back to the hotel when he received an overseas call from the FedEx office telling him he was not supposed to leave his hotel room. Enforcement officers had checked his room and discovered he was not there.

Yeargan returned to the hotel in a taxi at about 2.15pm after spending about three hours away from his room. 

DPP Jesudevan sought at least six to eight weeks’ jail, arguing that Yeargan could have bought the items when the two weeks were up or asked his employer to deliver them to him.

As of May 10, the DPP said that there have been more than 148 investigations into similar breaches. 

“Unless there is an immediate change in attitude and behaviour by certain members of the public about the seriousness of compliance with the law, the number of breaches, and potentially the number of Covid-19 cases in Singapore, will rise,” the prosecutor added.

Yeargan’s lawyer, Mr Ronnie Tan, asked for a hefty fine, up to the maximum, and a week in jail.

In mitigation, he said that Yeargan had been worried about his wife before leaving the US on March 18, as she had “a condition of lowered immunity”.

They had to call emergency services and she was placed on a breathing apparatus, as she had “tremendous and serious breathing difficulties”, the lawyer said. 

Yeargan had planned to fly back to see her and breached his stay order to get the items for his wife before returning to the US, Mr Tan added.

When Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun asked why Yeargan did not ask someone else to get the items for him, Mr Tan acknowledged that Yeargan should have done so, although he did wear a face mask while out.

Yeargan also addressed the court, saying: “I made a poor choice in this attempt to gain this personal protective equipment… I would like to humbly offer my apologies and say I have the highest regard for the Singapore people and its laws.”

The judge noted that Yeargan was scheduled to leave on April 15, two days before the stay order ended, and thought he could have flown out instead of completing the order.

Yeargan could have been jailed up to six months, fined up to S$10,000, or faced both penalties.