Man who called nurse 'Covid spreader' fined $3k for lion dance ruckus

A man who shouted "Covid spreader" at his neighbour, who was a hospital nurse during the pandemic in 2020, has been fined over an unrelated ruckus at his adult son's lion dance competition in 2023.

Unhappy that his son was associating with a lion dance troupe, Cheang Eng Hock went to the competition, where he and his wife poured coffee on a lion dance costume. She also kicked and cracked a lion head.

On April 25, the 60-year-old man was fined $3,000 after he pleaded guilty to one count of mischief.

His wife, Lim Sok Lay, 52, was fined $4,000 in February over her part in the incident after pleading guilty to two charges, including one count of mischief.

At the time of the offences, the Singaporean couple's 25-year-old son was not on speaking terms with the family.

State Prosecuting Officer (SPO) Lam Peng Choy told the court that Cheang and Lim did not approve of their son associating with the lion dance troupe, as they felt that its members were teaching him "the wrong things".

On July 29, 2023, the couple returned to their Punggol home to find that the unit was in a mess, with its main gate unlocked. Their son was also not at home.

The couple decided to confront their son and took a taxi to West Coast Community Centre in Clementi, where he was taking part in a competition with the troupe.

At the community centre, the couple poured coffee on the troupe's lion dance costume.

SPO Lam said: "While arguing with members of the troupe, (Lim) also kicked the head of the lion dance costume, causing it to be cracked."

The competition was disrupted for about 10 minutes, and the troupe's founder alerted the police. Officers arrived at the scene soon after to arrest the couple.

SPO Lam told the court that the lion dance costume had to be replaced as the coffee stains could not be removed. The head of the costume also could not be used as it was cracked.

It cost $1,330 to replace the costume, and the offenders each forked out $665 as restitution.

Cheang and his wife first made the headlines when they harassed their neighbour and his family in 2020.

The couple shouted the words "Covid", "Covid spreader", "virus" and "virus family" at the victims. Lim also sprayed liquid disinfectant in their direction.

Lim was fined $4,000 and Cheang was fined $1,200 after committing these offences.