Construction worker fined $2,000 for breaching quarantine to try to deal with unauthorised bank transactions
A construction worker, who said he had received text messages stating somebody had withdrawn more than $1,000 from his bank account, breached his quarantine amid the Covid-19 outbreak as he wanted to visit his bank and inquire about the unauthorised transactions.
Chinese national Liu Dufeng, 50, left his Genting Road dormitory on Feb 21 and walked to MacPherson Road but the POSB branch was no longer there.
He returned to his dormitory after spending 1½ hours outdoors, the court heard.
Liu was fined $2,000 yesterday after pleading guilty to an offence under the Infectious Diseases Act.
He was placed on quarantine from Feb 12 to 24 as he was suspected to be a contact of a Covid-19 case.
Liu said he received a text message on Feb 14 stating somebody had withdrawn $1,000 from his bank account, and another message six days later of a RM900 (S$290) withdrawal.
He said he called the bank hotline over the unauthorised transactions but did not understand what the bank employee was saying.
He decided to visit his bank and left his dormitory on Feb 21 without informing the authorities.
Liu later received a phone call from the operation management centre of security company Certis asking him where he was.
He returned to his dormitory around noon and Certis officers then served him an extended quarantine order, until Feb 25.
During investigations, Liu said he had not interacted with anyone during his trip out.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Jane Lim and Phoebe Tan urged the court to sentence him to a fine of $2,500, saying his breach was minor.
He had also worn a mask while outdoors and there was no evidence to show that he had come into contact with others after leaving his place of isolation, they added.
First-time offenders convicted of the offence can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $10,000. Repeat offenders can be jailed for up to a year and fined up to $20,000.
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