Covid-19: American pilot to plead guilty to breaching stay-home notice, two Singaporeans charged
Brian Dugan Yeargan, Chong Chun Wah and Siti Wan Su'Aidah Samsuri outside the State Courts on April 21, 2020.
SINGAPORE — Two Singaporeans and an American commercial pilot were charged in court on Tuesday (April 21) after breaching their stay-home notices, with the latter set to plead guilty on Thursday to his offence under the Infectious Diseases (Covid-19 — Stay Orders) Regulations 2020.
Those returning from abroad and given stay-home notices must remain in their place of accommodation for two weeks to prevent imported Covid-19 cases.
If convicted under the Infectious Diseases Act or its regulations, they could be fined up to S$10,000, jailed up to six months, or face both penalties for each charge.
Three others have also been hauled to court for similarly breaching their notices. One has pleaded guilty to doing so to have a bak kut teh — pork rib soup — dinner and has yet to be sentenced.
Based on court documents, the American pilot, Brian Dugan Yeargan, 44, allegedly left the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport hotel two days after he was issued a stay order on April 3. He had arrived from Australia that day.
He is accused of taking public transport to and from Chinatown Point shopping mall, where he visited several shops.
The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said on Monday that he had taken the train to City Hall MRT Station and walked to the mall, spending about three hours outdoors.
His profile on the professional network LinkedIn stated that he works as a pilot for FedEx Express and as an instructor pilot for the Alaska Air National Guard. He also flew for Alaska Airlines.
His lawyer told the court that he is “very worried about his family” and needs to return home to serve his military service in the United States Air Force.
One of the two Singaporeans, 48-year-old Chong Chun Wah, was charged with one count under the Infectious Diseases Act and two charges under its regulations.
ICA said he returned to Singapore from Indonesia on March 17 and was ordered to stay home until March 31.
Court documents showed that he allegedly left his Bukit Batok home on March 24, took a bus to Jurong East to get some food, and spent about one to one-and-a-half hours outside.
On March 28, he went to check his mailbox at the void deck of his block of flats for about five minutes.
The next day, he went to a Bukit Batok coffee shop to get food, spending about 30 to 40 minutes outdoors.
He will return to court on May 8 for a pre-trial conference and told the court that he intends to plead guilty to his charges.
The second Singaporean, Siti Wan Su’Aidah Samsuri, 25, was handed one charge each under the Infectious Diseases (Covid-19 — Stay Orders) Regulations 2020 and the Infectious Diseases (Measures to Prevent Spread of Covid-19) Regulations 2020.
She returned from Australia on March 25 and was given a stay-home notice till April 8, ICA said previously.
On March 30, she allegedly walked from her Woodlands home to Vista Point mall to get groceries and cigarettes, spending about 15 to 20 minutes there. She did not respond to multiple calls to her mobile phone from ICA, as part of enforcement checks.
District Judge Lorraine Ho told her that if she intends to plead guilty, the prosecution will seek a fine instead of imprisonment.
She replied that she will try to hire a lawyer, and will return to court on May 8 for a pre-trial conference.
