SINGAPORE — Fourteen men aged between 19 and 59 will be charged in court on Friday (June 26) with breaching safe distancing measures.

Of these, two men in their 50s — in separate incidents — repeatedly flouted safe distancing regulations, despite having been issued prior warnings.

In the first case, a 59-year-old man ate and drank with his friend at the void deck of Block 511 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8 on April 11 and received a conditional warning for participating in a social gathering during the circuit breaker period.

However, the man later attended three more gatherings with his friends between April 15 and May 13.

He will be charged with violating the prohibition on social gatherings between April 11 and May 13, as well as for not wearing his mask and not keeping a distance of at least one metre from his friends on May 13.

His friends are being dealt with separately for breaching the safe distancing measures, the police said in a news release on Friday.

The second case involves a 54-year-old man who left his home without a valid reason and chatted with a friend at the void deck of Block 202 Tampines Street 21 on April 30. He will be charged with violating the prohibition on social gatherings, said police.

Before this incident, the man had also been fined for leaving home without a valid reason on two other occasions. According to the police, he was uncooperative despite repeated warnings from enforcement officers and did not pay the fines. As such, he will also be charged with violating restrictions on leaving his place of residence.

Meanwhile, the man's friend was also fined for breaching safe distancing measures for the first time.

In the third case, six men who lived in a residence along Havelock Road invited six other men to their home for a gathering on June 11. Two of the residents and their six guests then went to a nearby playground to smoke and chat.

The six guests who visited the unit will be charged with violating restrictions on leaving their place of residence without a valid reason and violating the prohibition on social gatherings.

The six residents will be charged with violating restrictions on permitting other individuals to enter their residence without a valid reason. The two who were also part of the group who went to the playground to smoke and chat face additional charges for violating Covid-19 control order regulations.

"The authorities will not hesitate to take action against anyone who does not comply with safe distancing measures or show blatant disregard for our laws," the police added.