Two individuals will be charged in court for non-compliance with safe distancing measures under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020, said the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) in a statement on Monday (1 Feb).
According to the BCA, a 53-year-old male, who is the owner of the residential unit, breached the COVID-19 rules by permitting 12 individuals who were not members of his household to enter and remain at his place of residence at Daisy Road on 2 October 2020 for the purposes of a birthday celebration.
In addition, one of the visitors, a 50-year-old male, was in violation of the COVID-19 rules when he gathered outside his ordinary place of residence with 12 other individuals not from the same household.
“He had also allegedly invited three other visitors to the place of residence, despite knowing that doing so would cause the gathering to exceed the permissible number of individuals,” the BCA stated.
If found guilty, the two men could be jailed up to six months or face a fine up to S$10,000, or both.
During Phase Two of Singapore’s reopening – between 19 June 2020 and 27 December 2020 – an individual must not allow more than five visitors to enter his/her unit at any time unless for permitted purposes.
Meanwhile, the other 11 visitors who were present at the gathering have each been issued with a composition fine of S$300 for participating in the social gathering of more than five persons.
“In deciding to issue them a composition fine instead of prosecuting them, the level of their culpability in relation to the breach was taken into account,” the authority added.
The BCA has also issued an advisory to the management corporation (MCST) of the premise to remind it to ensure that residents are in compliance with the safe management measures within the premises.
“Homeowners and MCSTs need to do their part in curbing the spread of COVID-19, especially during the upcoming festive period,” the authority stressed.
Four Mediacorp artistes were involved in the gathering
What’s more, the unlawful birthday celebration on 2 October last year involved four Mediacorp artistes — Terence Cao, Shane Pow, Jeffrey Xu, and Sonia Chew — which was confirmed by the media group on 28 December 2020.
Earlier on Monday, Mediacorp told TODAY that it takes the matter seriously, adding that it has cooperated fully with the authorities on their investigations.
“We do not condone the actions of the four artistes and the company has conducted an internal review and disciplinary actions will be taken. We constantly brief and remind our artistes to adhere to safe management guidelines, both in their professional and personal capacities,” said the group.
“The artistes deeply regret and take responsibility for their actions. They apologise for the mistake and assure everyone that this will not happen again,” it added.
