After a year-long trial, a man from Wuhan and his wife were found guilty of withholding information from Covid-19 contact tracers recently. When Hu Jun, a 40-year-old Chinese national, arrived in Singapore from Wuhan to spend Chinese New Year with his family in January of last year, he tested positive for Covid-19 nine days after arriving. It was in this city in China that the coronavirus outbreak was concentrated at the time. After becoming infected, he did not inform a health official that he had visited hotels, restaurants, and the Chinese embassy while sick.
According to the Infectious Diseases Act, he was found guilty of one count of knowingly withholding information on his whereabouts and activities from contact tracers, which he admitted to. In addition to withholding information and providing false information to a health officer, Shi Sha's 36-year-old wife was found guilty of four charges, including failing to respond fully and honestly to a health officer. According to Hu's defense, he did not provide certain information to health officials because he was either unaware that they were seeking it, couldn't recall the names of the places he visited or didn't have enough time to respond when he did. Although he had previously visited Singapore on a few occasions, he had only done so for brief visits to tourist attractions. He admitted he was generally unfamiliar with the city-state.
When Hu and his wife began to feel dizzy and warm on January 29, 2020, they went to Singapore General Hospital for treatment. He, too, began to cough a little. Hu testified that he felt "unusually cold" in the ward and wrapped himself in multiple blankets. Still, on cross-examination, he admitted to the prosecutor that he most likely had influenza. According to him, "I wasn't aware that I was a confirmed case (of Covid-19) until today," claiming that no one informed him of this while he was in the hospital. "I'm not sure if I'm a confirmed case (of Covid-19) until today," he said. During her testimony, Hu's wife, Shi, stated that she had difficulty communicating with the contact tracer. After several minutes of small talk, she was almost certain that Mandarin was not the woman's first language. She likened it to a chicken having a conversation with a duck. People "all over the world" had chastised Shi and her husband after hearing the news, she explained. She explained that she was concerned about medical bills because she didn't realize the Singapore government covered the cost of Covid-19 treatment at the time.
Hu and Shi were found guilty on Tuesday, according to Deputy Public Prosecutor Timotheus Koh, who argued that the contact tracers' evidence should be taken into consideration. His request was to have the court dismiss any defense arguments that the accused were involved in misunderstandings or miscommunications. He did so based on a statement claiming "shreds of evidence collusion between the accused persons." Further, he asserted that the accused had expressly discussed what information should be provided to the Ministry of Health to protect their privacy. Using the cases of Hu and Shi, Mr. Koh asserted that the defendant had demonstrated itself to be inconsistent and dishonest in contrast to the prosecution's case. Initially, Hu claimed that the contact tracer had asked him "too narrow" questions rather than open-ended ones in one instance, but later admitted when pressed that the tracer could ask open-ended questions in other instances. Steven John Lam, the defense attorney, stated that there were "clear doubts in the prosecution's case." Prior to the prosecution being able to cross the threshold, he explained, the prosecution had to demonstrate more than just negligence on the part of his clients, and that "it had to go to a situation where I literally just closed my eyes and took a 'for all I care' attitude." He said that the prosecution failed to address Shi's motivation for withholding information during the trial. In his written submissions, District Judge Ng Peng Hong stated, "I've read through them, and with the greatest respect to Mr. Lam, I don't see any compelling reason why I should not believe the testimony of the prosecution witnesses." After establishing that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt, he found Hu and Shi not guilty of all charges against them. It was decided that the case would be rescheduled for November for mitigation and sentencing. Shi and Hu could face up to six months in prison, and a maximum S$10,000 fine for each charge brought against them under the Infectious Diseases Act.