KUALA LUMPUR: A man was sentenced to 14 weeks' jail by the Singapore Courts on Monday for breaching his quarantine for being a close contact of a monkeypox (mpox) case including engaging in intimate acts with four men in 2022.
According to a report by CNA, Kelvin Low Zi Jian pleaded guilty to three counts under Singapore's Infectious Diseases Act for violating his quarantine or isolation terms with another five charges taken into consideration.
Based on the facts of the case, on Aug 3, 2022, Low received a message from the Singapore Health Ministry identifying him as a close contact of a mpox case.
A representative from the ministry told Low that he could be quarantined at home since he is staying alone. He, however, was not allowed to leave the unit and could not have any visitors.
An electronic quarantine order was issued to Low via SMS on that same night informing him to remain isolated at the unit in an enclosed room from Aug 3, 2022 to Aug 15, 2022.
The report said that Low, however, went on a dating application and reconnected with a person named in court documents only as A1 as soon as he was issued the quarantine order.
A1 visited Low's unit that night, and the two engaged in intimate acts. After A1 left, another man, identified only as A2, arrived at Low's unit.
A2, who had been dating Low for about four months at the time, went there at Low's request.
They chatted before they engaged in intimate acts, reports said. The court was told that Low did not tell A2 that he was under an electronic quarantine order, and A2 would not have visited if he had known about the matter.
That same night, Low texted another man, A3 whom he knew through Telegram in the middle of July 2022.
Low asked A3 if he still wanted to buy the shirt that he was selling. Low also offered to pay for A3's private-hire ride to his home.
A3 agreed and arrived at Low's home 12.46am on Aug 4, 2022. A3 left Low's home at about 7am.
Three hours later, a fourth man, named in the court document as A5, visited Low. A5 left after about 1 hour and 40 minutes.
After he left, A3 returned to the unit to retrieve his belongings.
The following day, Low was taken to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) after developing a rash on his right thigh.
That afternoon, Low was confirmed to have mpox. He was isolated before being taken to Village Hotel Albert Court.
He was instructed to isolate there, receiving a phone call and another electronic order about it. Low acknowledged the order and signed it.
The ministry, however, learned of Low's breaches of quarantine. Officials from the Health Alert Task Group were deployed to the hotel on Aug 8 to issue Low a warning letter, which he refused to sign.
Low breached his isolation order and left the hotel about 15 minutes after the officials left, prompting a search involving hotel employees and the police.
When contacted, Low said he would return to the hotel. He was reported to have been walking outside for over an hour, with a mask on, before returning to the hotel.
The report said that during the investigation, Low admitted that he had met A2 and A3 to engage in intimate acts and discuss his personal problems.
Low will begin his jail term for this case after completing an unrelated one-year jail for a drug offence, the reports said.