12 people plead guilty to meeting at Kallang Canal to drink and celebrate birthday during circuit breaker
File photo of the State Courts in Singapore (Photo: Jeremy Long)
SINGAPORE: During the COVID-19 "circuit breaker", when social gatherings were prohibited, 12 Sri Lankan nationals met at a grass patch to drink and celebrate a birthday.
The police were alerted to the case in the wee hours, after receiving a report that people had been playing drums near Kallang Canal for the past half hour.
The eight men and four women, aged between 19 and 48, pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Aug 25) to breaking a COVID-19 regulation by meeting people from outside their households for a social purpose.
Kaluwel Durayalage Hiruni Dulmali was sentenced to a fine of S$3,000, while the rest had their sentencing adjourned as they wished to raise funds to pay the fines.
The other 11 accused are: Sebastian Gracian, 48, Wadiwardhanage Sisiralalith, 43, Pransa Wedalage Prashan Chamare, 34, Mandalige Dilshana Charika Fernando, 27, Thalpe Liyana Pathiranage Kavinda, 26, Pemasinghe Sampath Sujeewe, 25, Kavikarage Pasindu Malith Wickramarathna, 23, Hikkaduwa Gamage Nethasha Parami, 22, Weerakoon Sanada, 22, Nishshanka Arachchige Jithmika Sandaruwan, 21, and Bulugoda Gamaralalage Asela Kavinda, 19.
Nishshanka and Kaluwel are on valid student passes, while Hikkaduwa's student pass has expired. Bulugoda and Pransa came in on student passes which were later cancelled and are in Singapore on special passes which expire next month.
The rest are in the country on social visit passes, work passes or special passes.
On May 18, the 12 Sri Lankans gathered at a grass patch along Kallang Canal at the Kallang Park Connector from 9.30pm. They were celebrating the birthday of Pemasinghe, who was to turn 25 in June.
Two of the accused bought beer. The group spent three hours drinking, singing and playing drums.
At about 1.50am, the police received a report stating: "I can hear people playing drums near the canal there. It's across Block 54 and across the canal there. It's been going for (the) past 30 minutes."
When the police arrived, the 12 were cooperative, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Phoebe Tan, who asked for a fine of S$3,000 for all the accused.
Some of them initially told the judge through a Sinhalese interpreter that they lived in the same block, with six of them living in one unit and six in another.
"Same block doesn't mean same home, right?" asked District Judge Adam Nakhoda. "This is during the circuit breaker period, and during that time you were supposed to remain in your address except for limited circumstances, correct? And you were most certainly not supposed to be meeting up with people from other addresses in a public place. It is irrespective of whether you live in the same block."
NO PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS: PROSECUTOR
In seeking the S$3,000 fine, Ms Tan said all 12 have no previous convictions and did not interact with other members of the public or flaunt their breaches on social media.
She compared the case to Francis Soh Seng Chye's, who had posted on Facebook about his illegal gathering, saying "so what?"
Soh received a fine of S$4,500, she said, adding that S$3,000 was appropriate for the Sri Lankans.
READ: 'Illegal gathering, so what': Man fined for having dinner with cousin-in-law during circuit breaker
None of the accused had defence lawyers. They pleaded for leniency and a lighter fine, with Mandalige saying that he had come to the country on a visit pass to look for a job.
"That is when COVID-19 happened. At that time, we were very stressed. At the moment, the situation in Sri Lanka is also bad, so it's difficult to raise money," the defence said.
Two other co-accused said they were unable to pay the fine as they had either lost their internship or finished it.
Pemasinghe, the birthday boy, said he and his co-accused were "very stressed" during "the corona time" and pleaded for a light fine.
Judge Nakhoda adjourned sentencing for the remaining 11 accused to Sep 4, reminding them that they already had a month before Tuesday to raise funds for their fines.
For breaking a COVID-19 regulation, they could be jailed up to six months, fined up to S$10,000, or both.
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