- Joined
- Apr 14, 2011
- Messages
- 16,840
- Points
- 113
Man who 'defiantly flaunted' unlawful dinner gathering on social media among 6 convicted of offences related to Covid-19
SINGAPORE - A man unlawfully went to a family member's flat for dinner during the circuit breaker period, snapped pictures of the gathering and posted them on social media.
Part-time private-hire car driver Francis Soh Seng Chye, 38, also added a caption to the picture, saying:"After a long long long long super long day... we are having (an) illegal gathering... so what? Enjoy the food to the max."
The act, which the prosecution said showed "defiance of authority and disregard for the law", was posted on April 8, a day after social distancing measures were introduced in Singapore.
On Wednesday (May 20), Soh was fined $4,500 after pleading guilty to an offence under the Covid 19 (Temporary Measures) Act.
The court heard a friend of his had spotted the post on Facebook and told citizen journalism website Stomp, which wrote about it. The report attracted public attention.
The incident happened on the evening of April 8.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Kenneth Chin said Soh had met another part-time private-hire car driver, Ms Lye Bao Ru, around 7pm, to hand her the keys to a car they shared.
He accepted her invitation to dinner at her Circuit Road flat which was attended by seven people in all.
He removed the post of the gathering after she asked him to. Court documents did not state if action will be taken against her.
DPP Chin urged Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun to impose a fine of at least $5,000, adding: "The accused knowingly broke the law and defiantly flaunted it."
Soh, who was unrepresented, said Ms Lye is his "cousin-in-law" and admitted it was "childish" of him to create the post.
He was one of six people dealt with in court on Wednesday over separate offences related to the Covid-19 outbreak.
The others are: Siti Wan Su'Aidah Samsuri, 25; Foo Ching Guan, 32; Vardireddy Nageswara Reddy, 35; Shake Mohammed Abdul Samad Haji Abduraheem, 44 and Teo Say Leong, 64.
All are Singaporeans, except Vardireddy, who is an Indian national.
SINGAPORE - A man unlawfully went to a family member's flat for dinner during the circuit breaker period, snapped pictures of the gathering and posted them on social media.
Part-time private-hire car driver Francis Soh Seng Chye, 38, also added a caption to the picture, saying:"After a long long long long super long day... we are having (an) illegal gathering... so what? Enjoy the food to the max."
The act, which the prosecution said showed "defiance of authority and disregard for the law", was posted on April 8, a day after social distancing measures were introduced in Singapore.
On Wednesday (May 20), Soh was fined $4,500 after pleading guilty to an offence under the Covid 19 (Temporary Measures) Act.
The court heard a friend of his had spotted the post on Facebook and told citizen journalism website Stomp, which wrote about it. The report attracted public attention.
The incident happened on the evening of April 8.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Kenneth Chin said Soh had met another part-time private-hire car driver, Ms Lye Bao Ru, around 7pm, to hand her the keys to a car they shared.
He accepted her invitation to dinner at her Circuit Road flat which was attended by seven people in all.
He removed the post of the gathering after she asked him to. Court documents did not state if action will be taken against her.
DPP Chin urged Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun to impose a fine of at least $5,000, adding: "The accused knowingly broke the law and defiantly flaunted it."
Soh, who was unrepresented, said Ms Lye is his "cousin-in-law" and admitted it was "childish" of him to create the post.
He was one of six people dealt with in court on Wednesday over separate offences related to the Covid-19 outbreak.
The others are: Siti Wan Su'Aidah Samsuri, 25; Foo Ching Guan, 32; Vardireddy Nageswara Reddy, 35; Shake Mohammed Abdul Samad Haji Abduraheem, 44 and Teo Say Leong, 64.
All are Singaporeans, except Vardireddy, who is an Indian national.
