SINGAPORE - The last four members of a 12-person group who spent a day on Lazarus Island last year in breach of Covid-19 rules were fined $3,000 each on Wednesday (Feb 24). British nationals Helen Ann Sullivan, 31; Joshua Adam Roth, 31; James Riby Oram Trimming, 31; and Edward John Joseph Lee-Bull, 33, pleaded guilty to a charge of meeting others for a non-permitted purpose and without reasonable excuse under the Covid-19 regulations. The other eight people were earlier fined $3,000 each. They are William Edwin Dunford, 32; Richard Henri Lagesse, 31; Lowri Mair Jeffs, 31; Zoe Louise Cronk, 30; Jeff Richard Alexander, 32; Luong Thi Thu Ha, 31; Natalie Joanna Sarkies, 29 and Paul Jonathon Gold, 32. All of them are British except for Sarkies, who is Singaporean, and Ha, who is Vietnamese. Their trip took place during phase two of Singapore's reopening, when only groups of up to five people were allowed to meet outside their homes for social purposes. The court heard that at about 11am on Aug 8 last year, the group took a ferry to St John's Island, before walking to the beach at Lazarus Island. They spent the day there before taking a ferry back to mainland Singapore at about 6pm. Lazarus Island is located south of the Singapore mainland and a man-made causeway connects it to St John's Island. Sarkies posted photos of the trip on Instagram and the trip was reported on various media platforms. Sullivan, Roth and Lee-Bull were represented by lawyer Shafiuddin Ong who originally represented Trimming as well, but he was discharged. Trimming represented himself and expressed remorse for his actions. Mr Ong said his clients were sorry for their actions and "with the benefit of hindsight, realise the severity of their actions". He asked that the fines be reduced from the sentences in cases cited by prosecution which occurred during the circuit breaker period, since the gathering happened during phase two of Singapore's reopening. However, deputy public prosecutor Timotheus Koh reiterated that there should be no difference in the sentencing of offences committed during and after the circuit breaker as the regulations still serve the common purpose of "guard(ing) against outbreak of Covid-19". More on this topic   Related Story Woman involved in unlawful 12-person gathering on Lazarus Island fined $3,000   Related Story Six members of 12-person gathering on Lazarus Island fined $3,000 each for flouting safe distancing measures District Judge Ong Luan Tze agreed with the prosecution and added that it was "fair and appropriate" for the four accused to receive the same sentence as the previous eight. For breaching a Covid-19 regulation, they could have been jailed for up to six months, fined up to $10,000 or both. More on this topic   Related Story 11 fined total of $25,200 for unlawful gathering during circuit breaker   Related Story Courts & Crime: Read more stories

SINGAPORE - Six people have been fined $3,000 each for taking part in an unlawful gathering on Lazarus Island amid the Covid-19 outbreak on Aug 8. They were part of a 12-person gathering on the island that violated Covid-19 regulations, which prohibited social gatherings of more than five people who do not stay in the same place of residence. Natalie Joanna Sarkies, 29; Zoe Louise Cronk, 30; Jeff Richard Alexander, 32; Lowri Mair Jeffs, 31; Richard Henri Lagesse, 31, and William Edwin Dunford, 32, had each pleaded guilty to an offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act. Sarkies is Singaporean while the rest are British. Alexander, Jeffs and Dunford were represented by Mr Shafiuddin Ong from Emerald Law, while Sarkies, Cronk and Lagesse were unrepresented. According to court documents, the group of 12 took a ferry from mainland Singapore to St John’s Island at 11am on Aug 8. Once there, the group walked to the beach along Lazarus Island, which is connected by a man-made causeway to St John’s Island. They then engaged in various leisure activities, before taking a ferry from St John’s Island back to mainland Singapore at around 6pm. The court heard that Sarkies posted photographs of the trip on social media platform Instagram. The photographs were subsequently reported on various media platforms, attracting public attention and causing public alarm, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Timotheus Koh.  Urging the court to fine each individual $3,000, the DPP said in his sentencing submissions that the case was comparable to an earlier incident involving 12 other people gathering in Kallang. Each offender in that case was fined $3,000. Mr Ong disagreed, submitting in mitigation that his clients should be each fined $2,500 instead. He argued that a distinction should be made between the present case, which occurred during Phase 2, and the earlier case, which happened during circuit breaker. Another member of the group, 32-year-old Briton Paul Jonathon Gold, was fined $3,000 on Oct 14. The cases for the remaining five - Helen Ann Sullivan, 30; Joshua Adam Roth, 31; James Riby Oram Trimming, 31; Luong Thi Thu Ha, 31, and Edward John Joseph Lee-Bull, 32 - are still pending. If found guilty of the offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act, first-time offenders can be jailed for up to six months or fined up to $10,000, or both. Repeat offenders can be jailed for up to a year or fined up to $20,000, or both. More on this topic   Related Story 11 fined total of $25,200 for unlawful gathering during circuit breaker   Related Story Coronavirus: 4 people fined $4,000 each over unlawful public gathering where alcohol was consumed