Singapore - A taxi driver was jailed for
four months in Singapore on Wednesday over a Facebook post in
which he falsely claimed food outlets would close and urged
people to stock up due to impending Covid-19 restrictions, local
media reported.
Kenneth Lai Yong Hui, 40, deleted the message sent to a
private Facebook group with around 7,500 members after 15
minutes, court records show, but the public prosecutor called
for a punishment that would deter others.
Singapore, which has seen bouts of panic buying during a
four-month battle with the virus, has imposed tough punishments
on those who breach containment rules or spread misinformation
as it tackles one of Asia's highest COVID-19 rates.
"The psychological fight to allay fear and hysteria is just
as important as the fight to contain the spread of COVID-19,"
deputy public prosecutor Deborah Lee said in her sentencing
submission, according to case documents.
Lai, who represented himself and could not be reached for
comment, was sentenced to four months' jail in the State Courts
on Wednesday, according to Singapore's main Straits Times
newspaper and broadcaster ChannelNews Asia.
The State Courts did not immediately respond to a request
for comment on the sentencing.
The offence of transmitting a false message in Singapore is
punishable with a fine not exceeding S$10,000 ($7,000) or
imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or both.
Last month, a man who broke quarantine with 30 minutes
remaining to buy a flatbread worth a few dollars was fined
$1,000. Another man who breached an order to stay home to eat
pork rib soup was jailed for six weeks.
According to court records, police received a complaint on
April 20 about Lai's post which said the government was closing
food courts and coffee shops and supermarkets would only be open
two days a week.
"Better go stock up your stuff for the next month or so,"
the post said, on which people commented urging him not to
spread such rumours, according to the court documents.