Those who break rules in virus fight will face strong action: Shanmugam
The authorities will not hesitate to take strong action against those who break the rules meant to contain the spread of the coronavirus here, said Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam yesterday.
His comments come a day after it was announced that action had been taken against three Chinese nationals who flouted coronavirus containment measures here.
The first of the trio, a 45-year-old Singapore permanent resident, breached his stay-home notice requirements while he was here from Feb 20 to 23.
As a result, he was stripped of his PR status and barred from re-entering Singapore.
In a Facebook post yesterday, Mr Shanmugam said that "the deliberate breaking of the rules, in the current situation, calls for swift and decisive response".
The other two people, a couple from China, have been accused of giving false information to Ministry of Health (MOH) officials and obstructing contact tracing.
The man, a 38-year-old Chinese national from Wuhan known as Hu Jun, is Case 16.
His wife, Shi Sha, is a 36-year-old Chinese national who lives here.
She was identified as a close contact and issued a quarantine order on Feb 1, after the MOH initiated contact tracing to identify those exposed to the infected person while he was symptomatic.
But the couple allegedly gave false information about their movements and whereabouts when contacted.
Shi also provided false information while under quarantine.
Detailed investigations uncovered the couple's true movements.
They are due to be charged today under the Infectious Diseases Act.
"Contact tracing is an essential step in containing the virus," wrote Mr Shanmugam.
"During this period, we need everyone to cooperate. People need to know that we will not hesitate to take strong action," he said.
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