SINGAPORE, Feb 15 — After returning to Singapore from London, Nigel Skea began serving a two-week stay-home notice (SHN) at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore hotel but soon breached it to meet his then-fiancee.
Agatha Maghesh Eyamalai booked another room in the upscale hotel, where they spent the night together.
However, a security officer caught Skea as he was attempting to return to his own room. He also lied to hotel staff that his room door had accidentally closed behind him, leaving him stranded.
Today, Skea, a 52-year-old Briton, pleaded guilty in a district court to one charge each of contravening a control order and failing to wear a face mask under the Infectious Diseases Act.
District Judge Jasvender Kaur will consider another four similar charges for sentencing on Feb 26.Eyamalai, 39, pleaded guilty to a single charge of conspiring with Skea to contravene a control order.
They committed the offences in the wee hours of Sept 21 last year before tying the knot in November, the court heard.
At the time, Skea worked as a tug master with Scotland-based Maritime Craft (Clyde) Ltd. He was previously deployed to Mozambique in southeastern Africa, then took a flight to his native Britain.
On Sept 20 last year, he flew to Singapore to meet Eyamalai.
An Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officer served an SHN on him, telling him he was not allowed to leave his hotel room and could not have visitors. He acknowledged this.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Kenneth Kee told the court: “Given the potential for Covid-19 to spread via asymptomatic transmission and having travelled internationally to countries afflicted by the Covid-19 pandemic prior to his entry into Singapore, coupled with the SHN and the attendant requirements that were imposed upon him, the accused had reason to suspect that he was a carrier of Covid-19.”
Lied to hotel staff
After arriving at the Ritz-Carlton, Skea sent a text message to Eyamalai to tell her he was there. She then called the hotel to reserve a room on the 27th floor.
At 12.52am, Skea left his room on the 14th floor without a face mask on as he had decided to scout the hotel premises to see if there was a viable route he could take to get to her room.
When he got to the emergency staircase, he realised the door could be opened only from his side. He then walked back to his room before realising he was locked out.
He called the hotel’s reception counter for help and a staff member helped him to unlock the door.
At 2.25am, when Eyamalai got to her room, Skea left his room again and kept the door ajar by wedging a piece of cardboard between it and the doorframe.
He walked up the emergency staircase to the 27th floor, where Eyamalai opened the emergency exit door for him. They spent the night together in her room till about 11am.
After leaving Eyamalai’s room, he realised he could not access his floor through the emergency staircase, so he walked down to the fourth floor.
When a security officer stopped him, he lied that his room door had accidentally closed behind him while he was trying to collect food left outside his hotel room.
The officer related the story to the duty manager, who came up to escort Skea back to his room. Skea repeated the same lie about being locked out to the manager while they were in the elevator.
However, the manager noticed his door was unlocked and ajar. His actions were also captured on various closed-circuit television cameras on the 14th and 27th floors.
Couple had been separated a long time: Lawyer
DPP Kee sought four weeks’ jail and a S$1,000 fine for Skea, as well as two weeks’ jail for the Briton’s wife.
He noted that Skea had taken steps to avoid detection and Eyamalai was an “active participant” who agreed to meet up, booked the hotel room and communicated with him.
In mitigation, the couple’s lawyer S S Dhillon — who asked for fines — told the court that Skea came to Singapore primarily to marry Eyamalai. Skea had not left the hotel either.
They had faced travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 situation and missed each other very much. Eyamalai had lost her job as an administrative assistant due to the court proceedings, Dhillon added.
“They made a mistake because of their emotionally vulnerable state and not because they were out there to make miscellaneous purchases. This love element, long separation, couldn’t make them wait any longer to see each other,” the lawyer said.
For each charge of breaching Covid-19 laws, Skea and Eyamalai could be jailed for up to six months or fined up to S$10,000, or both. — TODAY
