Singapore Charges Chinese Couple for Impeding Virus Tracing Efforts

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Singapore has charged a married couple from China under the Infectious Diseases Act for providing false information and obstructing coronavirus contact tracing, the Ministry of Health said in a press release Wednesday.

The pair were charged on Tuesday and the case will be heard in court Friday, the ministry said.

According to the release:

• The husband arrived in Singapore, where his wife lives, on Jan. 22, and tested positive for coronavirus Jan. 31. The wife was issued a quarantine order the next day.
• The two were charged for providing false information about their movements and whereabouts from Jan. 22-29; the wife also allegedly provided false information while under quarantine.
• The ministry says it established the pair’s true movements “through detailed investigations.”
• Anyone convicted for a first offense under the act can be fined as much as S$10,000 and/or imprisoned for as long as 6 months.

In a separate statement, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority said it rejected a 45-year-old man’s application to renew his re-entry permit after he ignored a precautionary stay-home notice following recent travel to China. The man, who entered Singapore on Feb. 20 and departed Feb. 23, lost his permanent residency status and was barred from re-entering the country, according to the statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Melissa Cheok in Singapore at mcheok2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nasreen Seria at nseria@bloomberg.net, Michael S. Arnold

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