8 travellers under probe over alleged false SHN declarations

Eight travellers from South Korea and Thailand are being investigated for allegedly making false declarations to avoid serving their stay-home notice (SHN) in dedicated facilities.

The police and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said this in a joint statement yesterday.

They said in the eight individuals' applications done before coming here, they had allegedly declared they would either serve their 14-day notice period alone or with household members with the same travel history and serving SHN of the same duration as them.

But after arriving from South Korea and Thailand between Nov 5 and 12, the four Singapore citizens, two permanent residents and two long-term pass holders did not do so.

Instead, when enforcement officers conducted checks at their declared places of residence between Nov 6 and 13, they were found residing with household members who were not serving SHN.

PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE

These eight travellers were then taken to dedicated SHN facilities and the household members, who were not on SHN, have been issued with one as a precautionary measure to safeguard public health.

If convicted of making false declarations to opt out of dedicated SHN, the eight travellers can be fined, jailed or both.

For failing to comply with SHN requirements, they can be jailed for up to six months, fined up to $10,000 or both.

If the four non-Singaporeans are found guilty, their permanent resident status can be revoked or the validity of their re-entry permits and long-term passes may be shortened or cancelled.

The police and ICA said: "The authorities would like to remind members of the public to take all health, travel and SHN-related declarations seriously, and to submit truthful and accurate information.

"Firm enforcement action will be taken against those found to have made false declarations."