|
Nigel Skea, 52, faces six months in prison for leaving his room
three times on Sept. 21 last year, one of which was to meet
Singaporean partner Agatha Maghesh Eyamalai, who was not in
quarantine but had booked a room in the same hotel.
Eyamalai, 39, who married Skea in November, pleaded guilty to
abetting him. Skea was also not wearing a mask, which is
required in Singapore.
The city-state requires most arrivals to undergo 14 days of
quarantine at government-designated hotels.
Skea was twice "loitering along the corridor" and went to
Eyamalai's room 13 floors higher by using a stairwell through an
emergency exit door, which she had opened for him, according to
the charges.
"This is a classic tale of two lovers wanting to be together and
trying to be as close as possible to each other, but breaching
the law," the couple's lawyer S.S. Dhillon told the court.
Sentencing is expected to take place on Feb. 26. Quarantine
violations carry a penalty of a fine of up to S$10,000 ($7,565)
or up to six months in jail, or both.
Singapore has jailed and fined others for breaking COVID-19
rules, while some foreigners have also had their work permits
revoked.
It has largely brought the coronavirus under control, with less
than a handful of new local cases a day, due to strict
quarantining of arrivals, contact-tracing and social distancing.
($1 = 1.3219 Singapore dollars)
(Reporting by Chen Lin in Singapore; Writing by Aradhana
Aravindan; Editing by Martin Petty)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
