Dealing with COVID-19 offences: More than 1,000 cases prosecuted in court in 18 months

SINGAPORE: A teenager went fishing illegally at a park with a group of friends at 3am in June this year and did not wear a mask.

The 17-year-old pleaded guilty to his offences under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 and Parks and Trees Regulations on Thursday (Dec 9). He cannot be named under the Children and Young Persons Act as he was aged 16 at the time of the offences.

According to court documents, police officers observed a group of five people and another group of seven seated together side by side at Bukit Batok Town Park. The teen was one of the members of the group of five.

Members of the two groups failed to keep a safe distance from one another. They were intermingling in “close proximity”, and none of them was wearing a face mask that covered their mouth and nose, the court heard.

This case is among the latest of more than a thousand COVID-19 offences that the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) has prosecuted since such crimes started to take place.

TASK FORCE TO DEAL WITH COVID-19-RELATED OFFENCES

The first case of the virus emerged in Singapore in January 2020, and in the same month, AGC set up a cross-divisional COVID Taskforce to provide the Government with “urgent and cross-cutting legal advice” with the various issues amid an evolving situation, deputy public prosecutor Lim Jian Yi told CNA.  

On the prosecution front, specialised teams made up of more than 25 junior and senior deputy public prosecutors were set up, said Mr Lim, who co-leads the team that handles cases involving breaches of legislation related to COVID-19.

The teams oversee a wide range of offences, such as breaches of safe distancing measures, illegal gatherings, leaving residences for unlawful purposes, failing to wear face masks, causing public nuisance, and harassment and/or hurt to public officers carrying out duties to combat COVID-19. 

Teams were also assembled to prosecute fraud cases involving deception and property-related offences, online scams for the sale of face masks, using another individual’s identity card number to redeem face masks and misuse of government grants such as the Temporary Relief Fund and COVID-19 Support Grant, Mr Lim said.

“(The teams were) set up to ensure that COVID-19-related offences were dealt with fairly, quickly, and effectively,” said Mr Lim, who is also deputy senior state counsel. 

MORE THAN 1,000 CASES PROSECUTED

From April 2020 to October this year, the AGC prosecuted 1,020 people and business entities for breach of regulations under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act, and COVID-19 (Temporary Measures)(Control Order) Regulations 2020. 

AGC has also prosecuted seven people for COVID-19 government grants fraud. 

The deputy public prosecutors who deal with COVID-19 cases work closely with the multi-ministry task force and agencies like the Ministry of Health, the police and Immigration and Checkpoints Authority to ensure that prosecution policies keep pace with the changes in COVID-19 regulations and prevailing national priorities to safeguard public health, said deputy public prosecutor Nicholas Lim. 

Given that COVID-19 regulations are enforced by a wide range of agencies on the ground, AGC plays a central role in ensuring that enforcement guidelines are “consistent and fair”, he said. 

Mr Nicholas Lim, who is also deputy senior state counsel, led the team that advised various inter-ministry agencies on the protocol for referral of potential fraud cases to the police for investigations. He was involved in prosecuting fraud cases related to COVID-19 government grants. 

As the types of COVID-19 related-offences continue to evolve with amendments to the COVID-19 regulations and introduction of new government relief and support schemes, the deputy public prosecutors have had to adapt quickly to take firm and swift action against errant individuals and enterprises, said Mr Lim Jian Yi.  

However, COVID-19 offences are handled by several enforcement agencies and it’s the most “egregious or complex cases” that are handled directly by the AGC, he said. Prosecution in court is “only one of the many options to deal with offenders”, he said.  

“Most people who commit minor COVID-19 offences such as failure to wear a mask in public are given advisories, warnings, or offered composition which refers to a settlement between a complainant and the accused. Only in the more serious cases are offenders prosecuted in court,” he said.  

DECIDING THE APPROPRIATE COURSE OF ACTION

In deciding the appropriate course of action as well as the appropriate sentence to ask for in prosecution cases, a wide variety of factors are taken into account, Mr Nicholas Lim said. 

For example, the seriousness of the offence, whether fraud was perpetrated against public institutions and involved public funds, the manner in which the offence was committed, the impact of the offending conduct and whether the offender was recalcitrant are taken into account, he said. 

“Prosecution of COVID-19-related offences is necessary as we need to send a strong message that public health measures must be taken seriously to control transmission of the virus in the community, and that abuse of the support schemes will not be tolerated,” he said. 

Among the high-profile cases that the teams have handled are those of Phoon Chiu Yoke and Benjamin Glynn. 

When asked how they deal with cases that have high public or media interest, Mr Nicholas Lim said: “All cases are treated equally, regardless of public or media attention.” 

Overall, the journey has been challenging as many COVID-19 related offences were new and novel, he added.

There was also urgency for the AGC and enforcement agencies to deal with offenders swiftly, and ensure Singapore's public health was safeguarded, he said.  

“The experience gained by our prosecutors has been fulfilling as they played a key role in Singapore’s fight against COVID-19,” he said. 

“These are trying times and we appreciate that the various COVID-19 regulations may be restrictive. However, we all need to play our part to ensure Singapore emerges stronger from this pandemic.”