The Ministry of Manpower announced on Thursday, June 24, that six foreigners who broke Circuit BReaker rules at Robertson Quay have lost their work passes and permission to work in Singapore permanently.
This was after photo evidence of their lack of masks and social distancing were documented in a set of viral images circulated within Singaporean netizen social media.
Seven people have been fined for breaking the Circuit Breaker rules, but only six of them had their work passes revoked and lost eligibility for working in Singapore. The seven people involved in the case according to Channel News Asia, were Neil Gordon Buchan, a 30-year-old British national; Perry Scott Blair, a 37-year-old British citizen; James Titus Beatt, a 33-year-old British national; Joseph William Poynter, a 35-year-old British citizen; married couple, Americans Bao Nguyen Brown, 40, and Jeffrey George Brown, 52; and Michael Czerny, a 45-year-old Austrian national.
According to a report from Channel News Asia, Czerny is a permanent resident.
All of them reportedly plead guilty to breaking Circuit Breaker rules. They were also fined between $8,000 to $9,000. Restaurants in the area were ordered to stop selling alcoholic beverages for takeaway to stop gatherings.
Other offenders caught through social media
Previously, Alvinology reported on a man named Alan Tham Xiang Sheng, 34 years old, who was convicted for breaking stay-at-home orders.
He did not go straight home from his flight from Myanmar. He instead went to eat with his girlfriend at one of the food courts in the airport. He also did not stay at home once he reached his house and instead went to a hotel to access a money changer’s services and even had dinner and a quick grocery trip.
He was outed when he himself posted a photo of his meal that afternoon, which was Bak Kut Teh. He was fined and given a six week jail sentence for violating health protocols.
Paramjeet Kaur, the sovereign woman
Another foreigner whose case captured Singaporean public interest was that of self-proclaimed sovereign woman Paramjeet Kaur, who was caught several times not wearing a mask and eventually went viral twice. She was caught in altercations with Singaporeans who confronted her for not wearing a mask. She was seen unabashedly filming officers who confronted her about not wearing a mask the first time.
The second time, she was in a heated argument with citizens who asked her why she would not wear a mask, and from there she began her outburst of being a “sovereign” and that she can go out without a mask.
Her mother said in a separate interview that she used to be married and was a physiotherapist in Australia for ten years before moving to Singapore.
She was arrested later that day, and appeared in court twice with a new attorney each time. Her arrest forced Minister K Shanmugam to address how a “sovereign” person could choose which laws applied to them–and how the US dealt with these people who were considered “domestic terrorists.”
How many people violated Circuit Breaker rules?
140 people have had their work passes revoked for flouting COVID-19 related rules, 98 of them specifically for going against Circuit Breaker measures.
“These individuals were found eating, drinking and gathering in groups in public during the circuit breaker,” the ministry said.
“These took place at various locations such as dormitories, private residential areas, East Coast Park and Robertson Quay.”
“All work pass holders in Singapore must abide by the law,” the ministry added.
Header image from Lectress Pat Facebook account.
