A 64-year-old Indian-origin man Tamilselvam Ramaiya has been sentenced to two weeks in prison in Singapore for deliberately coughing at his colleagues while he was COVID-positive in 2021. He even lowered his mask to do so on one such occasion.
Ramaiya has pleaded guilty to one count of breaching the COVID-19 regulation by failing to wear a mask while he was outside his home in 2021.
As per Channel News Asia, two other charges were taken into account while he was being sentenced.
What did Ramaiya do?
Ramaiya, who was working as a cleaner for Leong Hup Singapore in 2021, told the assistant logistics manager on October 18, 2021, that he was feeling unwell, following which he was asked to take a antigen rapid test (ART).
His test was carried out by a colleague and Ramiaya tested positive for COVID-19. He was then asked to tell the assistant logistics manager about the result and return home. The assistant logistics manager learnt of the result from someone else and he informed his colleagues about it.
Meanwhile, Ramaiya, who was supposed to leave, did not go home immediately and went to the logistics office to inform the assistant logistics manager about his COVID-19 test result. He came in with a driver who was oblivious to his positive result.
A 40-year-old logistics supervisor, who was Ramaiya’s first victim and who knew about his result, asked the driver not to go near him. He also asked Ramaiya to leave the office and made a gesture mimicking kicking him out. Ramaiya walked to the door but turned back to cough twice into the office with his mask on.
The supervisor even closed the office door but Ramaiya opened it. He lowered his mask and coughed into the office a third time before leaving, leaving the act captured by a CCTV camera in the office.
As Ramiaya was leaving, he coughed in the direction of a 56-year-old clerk with his mask on, and said “kena Covid, kena Covid”, using the Malay word “kena” to describe someone on the receiving end.
None of the people who Ramaiya coughed on contracted COVID-19 from the incident.
However, a complaint was lodged against Ramaiya by the assistant logistics manager to the police.
During investigations, Ramaiya said he coughed at his colleagues as “a joke”, adding he did not treat his positive result seriously and visited the polyclinic to confirm his result. Deputy Public Prosecutor Sruthi Boppana said it was “no laughing matter”.
(With PTI inputs)