SINGAPORE – From a bak kut teh meal to that must-have breakfast fare, timing is everything when it comes to food cravings and measures introduced to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Tay Chun Hsien, 22, felt the urge to have breakfast at a neighbourhood shopping mall even though he had only about 30 minutes to go to the end of his quarantine.

He left his Choa Chu Kang flat to have his meal, a trip that has proven costly.

On Wednesday (April 29), the Singaporean was fined $1,500 after pleading guilty to an offence under the Infectious Diseases Act.

Tay had been ordered by the director of medical services to be isolated in his flat from March 19 until noon on March 22.

Despite this, he left his home for breakfast, from around 11.30am until noon that day.

The Ministry of Health said in an earlier statement that Tay had acknowledged the contents of his quarantine order when he received it.

He had also noted that he was not supposed to leave his home for the entire duration of the quarantine period.

Last week, Alan Tham Xiang Sheng, 34, was sentenced to six weeks’ jail for breaching a stay-home notice (SHN) to have a bak kut teh meal after a trip back from Myanmar.

The Singaporean was the first person to be convicted of exposing others to the risk of infection by breaching a SHN.

Offenders convicted of leaving their homes without the director of medical services’ permission can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $10,000.

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