Netizens say punishment for woman who breached SHN and gallivanted around S’pore insufficient

Netizens say that the punishment that could possibly be given to a woman who breached her Stay Home Notice and gallivanted around Singapore is insufficient. Given the detrimental consequences of her reckless behavior, Facebook users argued that the penalties she faced were “too light.”

In an effort to limit the transmission of Covid-19 in Singapore, the Government began issuing mandatory Stay-Home Notices (SHNs) to individuals entering Singapore at the beginning of April.

According to a press release by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), 35-year-old Rameswari Devi Jairaj Singh, who is a Singapore citizen, arrived in the country from Johor Bahru, Malaysia, on April 30. Upon her arrival, she was given a two-week SHN as part of the Government’s precautionary measures aimed at limiting the spread of Covid-19.

She was then brought to a hotel in Novena, which is one of Singapore’s dedicated facilities for accommodating people who are serving out their two-week isolation period. Though Rameswari was to remain in the facility from April 30 to May 14, she left on May 4 and returned on May 12.

The press release listed down five locations that Rameswari visited in breach of her SHN: Toa Payoh, Redhill, Block 63A Lengkok Bahru, Siglap, and Tiong Bahru. For more than a week, she travelled across these places.

She was charged in court on June 10 after her “willful breach” was investigated by the ICA. Should Rameswari be convicted, she will have to pay a fine amounting up to S$10,000 or serve up to six months of jail time, or both, under the Infectious Diseases Act and its Regulations.

In response to this, however, netizens have said that the punishment does not reflect the consequences of her actions and many called for her punishment to be increased.

A few others, however, questioned the system in place at the dedicated facility, given that Rameswari was out and about for more than a week.