Prosecution seeks 6-8 weeks' jail for man who allegedly breached SHN to deliver newspapers

[SINGAPORE] The prosecution is seeking a jail term of between six to eight weeks for a man who allegedly breached his stay-home notice (SHN) to deliver newspapers on March 30.

Palanivelu Ramasamy, who appeared in court on Thursday, is accused of leaving his Towner Road flat that day to go to Goldhill Plaza near Thomson Road.

The 48-year-old registered news vendor with Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) was one of two Singaporeans charged last week with breaching their SHN in separate incidents amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Palanivelu is facing a charge under the Infectious Diseases (Covid-19 Stay Orders) Regulations 2020. No plea was taken and the case was adjourned to April 22. His bail was set at S$5,000.

On Thursday, Navin Kumar, a manager with SPH's circulation department, told the court that the company will be engaging a lawyer for Palanivelu.

The other man, Alan Tham Xiang Sheng, 34, has pleaded guilty to an offence under the Infectious Diseases Act. Tham, who left his home on March 23 to eat bak kut teh, is the first to be convicted for breaching an SHN. He will be sentenced on April 23.

In a joint statement released earlier, the Ministry of Health and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said Palanivelu had arrived in Singapore from India on March 21 after spending about a month there.

He was served with an SHN and was not supposed to leave his home for 14 days. The statement said he was not there when ICA officers visited his flat during an enforcement check on March 30. For breaching an SHN, an offender can be jailed up to six months and fined up to S$10,000.

Separately, in a statement on Thursday, SPH noted that Palanivelu has been a newspaper vendor with the company since 1985, and has been faithfully serving its subscribers throughout the years.

"We are rendering him and his family the necessary assistance to help them through this difficult period," SPH said.

The media and property group added that it has constantly reminded its newsvendor network to comply with the prevailing regulations since the implementation of Dorscon orange and "circuit-breaker" measures.

SPH said it has also provided vendors with the necessary protective equipment such as masks and gloves for them to carry out their jobs safely.

As at 4.41pm on Thursday, SPH shares were trading at S$1.51, down S$0.01 or 0.7 per cent.

THE STRAITS TIMES