K Shanmugam on rejection of PR renewal for breaching Stay-Home Notice: we will not hesitate to take strong action

Singapore – The Minister for Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugam backed up the rejection of a man’s Permanent Resident renewal for disregarding the Stay-Home Notice.

On February 26, the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) barred a 45-year-old Singaporean Permanent Resident re-entry into the country for breaching his Stay-Home Notice (SHN) requirements.

The SHN was implemented on February 18 as an added precautionary measure to minimise the risk of contamination and additional imported cases of the Covid-19. It is given to Singapore residents, both citizens and permanent residents, long-term pass holders and foreign employees with a work pass, with recent travel history to mainland China, noted ICA in their media release.

“Those given an SHN are required to remain in their place of residence at all times for 14 days,” added the ICA.

It was noted in the media release that the subject was given his SHN on February 20 after arriving at Changi Airport with travel history to mainland China in the past 14 days.

Although briefed with the requirements and process of the SHN, the man did not respond to phone calls and was not at his declared place of residence when ICA officers conducted their enforcement checks.

The man was caught by ICA officers on February 23, trying to leave Singapore. He insisted on departing after being warned that his actions could result in penalties.

“In view of the wilful breach of his SHN, ICA has rejected his application for renewal of his Re-entry Permit, which allows a person to retain his or her PR status while outside of Singapore. This means that the subject has lost his PR status,” said the ICA. The man was also barred from re-entering Singapore.

K Shanmugam went to Facebook to further support the ICA decision. “Some people said that this may be a bit harsh,” he wrote. “But the deliberate breaking of the rules, in the current situation, calls for a swift and decisive response.”

He added that the Government needs everyone’s cooperation during this period. “People need to know that we will not hesitate to take strong action.”

The minister also mentioned that another couple had been charged under the Infectious Diseases Act for giving false information to the Ministry of Health, which obstructed contact tracing efforts.

According to the ICA, those who fail to comply with the SHN may face the following penalties:

Netizens were in full agreement to the decision and thought it “was not harsh at all.” They urged the Government to “not allow such irresponsible individuals to jeopardise the rest” amid the virus outbreak.

Read related:

MOM finds several members of Singaporean workforce to be in violation of leave-of-absence order