SINGAPORE: A man has been charged with flouting laws by going to work as a taxi driver and exposing others to the risk of contracting COVID-19 from him in 2020.
Ho Kieh Lueh, 66, was handed five charges under the Infectious Diseases Act on Thursday (Sep 15).
According to charge sheets, he went to a clinic in Woodlands with symptoms of an acute respiratory infection, and was told to stay home between Jul 20 and Jul 24 in 2020, both dates inclusive.
However, instead of staying home, Ho allegedly left home every day of his stay-home period to work as a taxi driver.
He is accused of leaving his home for under an hour on the first day and working as a taxi driver for about five hours the second day. On the third day of his five-day stay-home order, Ho allegedly worked as a taxi driver from about 6.20am to 2.40pm.
On the fourth day, he purportedly worked from 5.20am to 12.40pm, and went to work again on the fifth day from about 4.55am to 12pm.
According to charge sheets, Ho’s actions exposed those he came into contact with to the risk of contracting COVID-19 from him.
He intends to plead guilty and was given a date to do so in October.
If convicted, he could be jailed for up to 12 months, fined up to S$20,000, or both per charge.