• Olagunju Daniel Olalekan Olasunkanmi spent close to three hours socialising outdoors 
• Alfred Jon Veloso Waring joinedin later and lingered for close to two hours
• Photos of their gathering were among those widely shared on social media during the circuit breaker

SINGAPORE — Two British men were fined on Tuesday (Sept 22) for socialising along Robertson Quay in May, when a circuit breaker to curb social activities and movement of people during the Covid-19 outbreak were in force. 

Olagunju Daniel Olalekan Olasunkanmi, 30, spent two hours and 45 minutes socialising at the steps in the vicinity of the Limoncello Italian restaurant along Robertson Quay on May 16. He was fined S$8,500 and will have to be jailed for 17 days if he does not pay the sum.

Alfred Jon Veloso Waring, 34, who lingered at the same place for a shorter duration of one hour and 51 minutes, was fined S$8,000, and will have to be jailed for 16 days if he does not pay up. 

The two pleaded guilty to one charge each of flouting a control order under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act on Tuesday.

The court heard that while he was socialising outside Limoncello, Olasunkanmi bought drinks thrice, including two rounds of beer.

Waring left the restaurant to buy a bottle of water and returned after that.

Court documents stated that Olasunkanmi first joined a woman who was already seated at the steps outside the restaurant at about 3.45pm that day, while Waring joined the group at about 4.55pm. 

They dispersed after two safe distancing ambassadors approached them at about 6.45pm.

The ambassadors observed that Olasunkanmi, Waring and other individuals in the group either had their masks pulled down or were not wearing their masks, and they were not maintaining a safe distance of at least 1m from one another.

BREACH ‘IN FULL VIEW OF THE PUBLIC’

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Colin Ng sought a fine of S$9,000 each for the two men, pointing out that they had committed the breach in full view of the public.

They were gathered near a busy pathway where foot traffic was high, he said.

“They were undaunted and undeterred by the fact that their actions would undoubtedly cause disquiet and alarm to the public who were complying with the safe distancing measures,” he added. “Their conduct also caused perceptions that our laws can be blatantly disregarded.”

A photograph of people gathering outdoors at Robertson Quay during the circuit breaker was widely shared on Facebook at the time. 

DPP Ng also asserted that their actions were “broadly similar” to that of others who had gathered at Robertson Quay on the same day and were fined S$9,000 each for their actions. 

The differences were that the other offenders had visited multiple locations, and while Waring and Olasunkanmi largely remained at one location, the duration of their breach was “significantly longer”, the DPP told the court.

However, the accused’s lawyer, Mr Ramachandran Shiever Subramanium of Grays LLC, asked the court to impose a S$7,000 fine instead, arguing that his clients had no intention to breach the law.

Mr Subramanium said that for Waring, the gathering had been a “chance meeting that went out of his control” and “events overtook him”. 

Waring admitted that he should have left the scene instead of lingering and acknowledged that he was being selfish, self-centred and ignoring society’s interest when he flouted the rules, the lawyer said.

“If he could turn back the clock, he would,” Mr Ramachandran said, urging the judge to “not be impervious” to the fact that Waring had learnt his lesson.

As for Olasunkanmi, Mr Ramachandran said that he lived alone in Singapore and had arrived in January 2019, so the lockdown period had been difficult for him.

“That’s why when he chanced upon his friends, instead of moving away, he lingered, but he is not making excuses for breaching the offence,” he said.

Waring and Olasunkanmi could each have been fined up to S$10,000 or jailed up to six months, or both.

In response to TODAY's queries, the Ministry of Manpower said on Wednesday that it has revoked the two men's work passes for breaching circuit breaker measures. They are also permanently banned from working in Singapore.