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Woman pleads guilty to repeatedly meeting boyfriend during Covid-19 circuit breaker to exercise
SINGAPORE — A 22-year-old woman pleaded guilty in court on Monday (Aug 23) to leaving her home multiple times during the circuit breaker period to meet her then-boyfriend for social purposes.May Moe Kyi, a Singapore permanent resident from Myanmar, admitted to two counts of leaving her home without a reasonable purpose, and six other charges of meeting a person not living in the same residence.
Twelve other similar charges will be taken into consideration for sentencing on Sept 20. District Judge Kok Shu-En called for a report to assess if she is suitable for probation.
May committed the offences between April 7 last year, which was the first day of the circuit breaker period, and April 26.
During the circuit breaker, which ended on June 1, people were not allowed to leave their homes except for essential purposes such as buying groceries or doing essential frontline work, so as to stem the spread of Covid-19.
People were also not allowed to meet others from different households.
Woman charged with meeting man 10 times during circuit breaker to exercise, watch movies
The court heard that she left her Chua Chu Kang home 10 times and took private-hire Grab rides to meet her boyfriend, Mr Ferris Frederick Francis, also aged 22. It is unclear if he has been prosecuted.
On eight of these occasions, she met him at the area outside his public housing flat along Bukit Batok Street 24, where they did “jumping jacks, lunges and other cardiovascular exercises”, the court further heard.
She would then spend time at his home before leaving.
The court also heard that on two occasions, she had gone to his place to play games and watch movies with him.
Once, on April 25, she went to Yew Tee Point shopping mall to get food for herself and Mr Francis before heading to his place.
The next day, she went to his house again and spent more than 11 hours outside her own home.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Joseph Gwee did not object to a probation suitability report as she lives with her sister and mother in Singapore. Her brother also has his own family here.
Probation is usually offered to first-time offenders between 16 and 21 years old. This does not result in a recorded criminal conviction and allows young offenders to continue with their education or employment while serving their sentences.
May’s lawyer Debbie Ooi told the court in mitigation that her client’s actions were “precipitated by a genuine, albeit misguided, attempt to help her fiancee who was going through anxiety, suffering from a respiratory infection and cooped up in his friend’s home”.
“Her sister underwent depression and she did not wish to lose another loved one,” Ms Ooi added.
DPP Gwee responded that May’s breaches in light of Mr Francis’s acute respiratory infection could possibly increase her culpability, but said he would reserve that argument till the probation report is ready.
For each charge, she could be fined up to S$10,000 or jailed for up to six months, or punished with both. Yes
