Coronavirus: Singapore jails American pilot for four weeks for breaching stay-at-home order
- Brian Dugan Yeargan left his hotel room at Singapore’s Changi airport and travelled downtown to buy masks and a thermometer
- Officials conducting a check on his hotel discovered he was not in his room. He could have been jailed for six months
Brian Dugan Yeargan, an American, had reportedly been served the order on April 3 after arriving in Singapore from Australia.
Under the stay order, Yeargan – who was also issued a 30-day short-term visit pass – was not allowed to leave his hotel room at the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport hotel before April 18. Breaching it can result in a jail term of up to six months and a fine of up to S$10,000 (US$7,000).
According to The Straits Times, on April 5, Yeargan left his hotel room and walked for about 15 minutes to the Changi Airport MRT station to take a train to City Hall station in downtown Singapore.
Government officials who were conducting a check discovered he was not in his room around 15 minutes after he left, The Straits Times reported.
Quoting Deputy Public Prosecutor V. Jesudevan, the newspaper reported that Yeargan then walked for 30 minutes from City Hall to Chinatown Point and visited four stores there.
A FedEx staff called him as he was on his way to take a train back to the hotel and informed him he was not supposed to leave his room. The pilot then took a taxi back to the hotel.
