Jail for man who used another's TraceTogether app to enter bar
A retiree, who was unvaccinated at the time, used another man's TraceTogether app to enter a Sentosa bar last year amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
Utheyakumar Nallathamby, 65, admitted to a cheating by personation charge on Wednesday (April 27) and was sentenced to five days' jail.
The actual owner of the app, Malaysian Kiran Singh Rughbir Singh, 37, who had allowed Utheyakumar to pose as him, was also given five days' jail in February after he pleaded guilty to a similar charge.
The court heard that Singh and his girlfriend had earlier met Utheyakumar in Hougang for drinks on Sept 9 last year.
The trio later went to Sentosa for more drinks and decided to go to Bikini Bar, as their first choice, Coastes bar, was crowded, with no seats at the beach area.
But an assistant manager of Bikini Bar did not allow Utheyakumar to enter as he was unvaccinated.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Shen Wanqin said that after leaving Bikini Bar, Singh suggested that his girlfriend and the accused return to Coastes and enter the bar using Singh's TraceTogether application and vaccination status.
"(Singh) further suggested that the accused falsely represent himself as (Singh), by presenting the TraceTogether application and vaccination status on (Singh's) phone to an employee in charge of checking the vaccination status of dine-in patrons at Coastes."
Utheyakumar agreed with Singh's suggestions and took the younger man's mobile phone. He then went to Coastes with the woman while Singh waited outside.
After that, Utheyakumar and the woman tapped their TraceTogether application on the phones in their possession against a SafeEntry Gateway device at the bar.
An assistant manager at Coastes then allowed the pair to enter the premises.
Utheyakumar was consuming drinks there when the assistant manager of Bikini Bar spotted the retiree and recalled that she had not allowed him to enter her workplace as he was unvaccinated.
She told her counterpart at Coastes and its operations manager then conducted a check on the phone in Utheyakumar's possession.
The man then found out that the device belonged to Singh and reported the matter to a duty manager of Sentosa Development Corporation.
The police were alerted soon after.
For cheating by personation, an offender can be jailed for up to five years and fined.
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