Indian-origin woman with husband jailed for breaching COVID norms

Singapore, Feb 26 (PTI):
A 39-year-old Indian-origin woman and her British husband were jailed in Singapore on Friday for breaking the country’s quarantine rules so that they could spend time together in a hotel room, according to a media report. Agatha Maghesh Eyamalai was jailed for a week. Her British husband Nigel Skea, 52, was sentenced to two weeks’ jail and slapped with a fine of 1,000 Singapore dollar (USD 752), the Channel News Asia reported.
In September, Nigel conspired with Eyamalai, his then-fiancee, to meet in a room at a hotel where he was serving a stay-home notice after arriving in Singapore from London.
District Judge Jasvender Kaur said it was not harsh for her not to place mitigating weight on the explanation for their breach that Skea had travelled to propose marriage and they both were overcome by emotions after not seeing each other for a very long time.
“The fact of the matter is that the restrictions are necessary to prevent the spread of the pandemic,” she said. “Disruptions to relationships are an inevitable consequence. It requires patience and sacrifice (from) everyone … for the greater good,” the Channel News Asia quoted Judge Kaur as saying.
The pair pleaded guilty earlier this month. Skea admitted to two charges of exposing others to risk of infection by leaving his hotel room while on stay-home notice and failing to wear a mask. Eyamalai, who subsequently married Skea, pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiring with Skea to breach his stay-home notice.
Defense lawyer Dhillon Surinder Singh said his clients had mixed feelings about their sentences, but will not be appealing them.
They want to finish off this matter and he wants to go back home as soon as possible, Singh told reporters. The couple had faced a sentence of up to six years in jail and a fine of 10,000 Singapore dollars (USD 7,538) on each charge.