Hawker and son fined for cursing at safe-distancing ambassadors over mask, sitting on marked seat

SINGAPORE: A hawker and his son were fined S$3,000 each for cursing at officers who were enforcing safe-distancing measures, after the hawker was spotted sitting on a marked seat in front of his stall, with his mask pulled down.

Seah Kian Huat, 64, and his son Roger Seah Hong Chiat, 40, were handed the fines on Monday (Nov 22). 

They pleaded guilty to a charge each under the Protection from Harassment Act of using abusive words towards a public servant, with a second related charge each taken into consideration.

The court heard that Seah was an owner of a food stall at Yuhua Village Market and Food Centre in Jurong East. His son, Roger, was helping out at the stall on the day of the incident.

On Aug 21 this year, the victim, a 51-year-old enforcement officer with the National Environment Agency, was performing his duties checking on safe-distancing measures in the area with a partner.

They spotted Seah in front of his stall, sitting across from another man. There was a cup of coffee on the table, but neither of the men was seen drinking from it. Both had their face masks pulled down to their chins, leaving their faces exposed.

After observing the pair, the victim and his partner approached Seah and his friend and asked them to put on their masks properly. They also asked Seah not to sit on a marked seat.

The men complied, but Seah was unhappy and raised his voice, insisting that he was waiting for his food to arrive and that he was going to drink the coffee.

He then uttered Hokkien vulgarities at the officers. When Seah's son heard the commotion, he stepped out from the stall and asked what happened.

When the victim and his partner explained, Roger began a verbal dispute with them. When reminded about the safe-distancing measures, he was unhappy and told the victim to "f*** off". He also told the officers that he would "make them suffer".

The victim called the police.

The prosecutor asked for a fine of between S$3,000 and S$4,000 each for Seah and his son. 

In mitigation, Seah asked for leniency and a lighter fine, saying that he was about to begin dialysis treatment and would need to spend a lot of money on it. 

"Because of my condition, I'm unable to work now," he said through a Mandarin interpreter. "When the police came, I immediately acknowledged that it was wrong of me to say those things."

His son also asked for a lighter fine, saying that business has not been good recently and that he has not been earning much.

For using abusive words on a public servant, they could have been jailed up to a year, fined up to S$5,000, or both.