Two men who took part in a social gathering at Robertson Quay during Singapore’s COVID-19 “circuit breaker” period have had their work passes revoked, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Thursday (Sep 24).
Britons Daniel Olalekan Olasunkanmi Olagunju, 30, and Alfred Jon Veloso Waring, 34, were also permanently banned from working in Singapore.
On May 16, photos of people gathering in Robertson Quay went viral on social media. Olagunju and Waring were part of a group of people who met at the steps near Limoncello restaurant that day to chat and drink alcohol.
Seven other people who also gathered in the area were fined in June. All were barred from working in Singapore except for one who is a Singapore permanent resident.
Both Olagunju and Waring were also fined earlier this week for flouting COVID-19 circuit breaker measures. Olagunju was fined S$8,500 and Waring was fined S$8,000.
Singapore implemented a circuit breaker from Apr 7 to Jun 1 to stem local transmissions of COVID-19. During this period, people who were not living in the same residence were not allowed to meet for social purposes.
In response to CNA’s queries, a spokesperson from MOM said on Thursday it would not “hesitate to take action against those who have been convicted of breaking the law”. This includes revoking work passes.
“All work pass holders in Singapore must abide by the law, regardless of nationality and pass type,” said the spokesperson.
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