SINGAPORE - While at a funeral wake in Circuit Road, 13 members of a secret society allegedly chanted gang slogans to show off their affiliation to the group.
This happened on April 5 this year, just before the circuit breaker took effect on April 7.
At that time, safe distancing measures limiting gatherings to 10 individuals were already in place.
Twelve of them were charged in court on Wednesday (Sept 9) with one count each of breaching safe distancing measures over the incident.
They also face charges of being a member of an unlawful society.
Two of them cannot be named as they are below 18 years old.
The other 10 are Alvin Mo Boon Heng, 35; Baey Xin Yu, 25; Don Tham, 25; Eugine Lee Eng Qin, 19; Julian Kuah Jun Hong, 19; Luo Jun Yuan, 24; Tay Wee Keong, 24; Yu Wei Jie, 22; Cedric Teo Khai Boon, 19, and Lim Wei Xuan, 26.
Lim is said to have rented the pavilion for the wake.
He is accused of breaching safe distancing measures by allegedly allowing more than 10 individuals to enter the venue, while the rest are said to have done so by gathering and conducting a "secret society ritual" at the funeral wake.
Mo, Lee, Lim and Tay were also charged with allegedly inviting other individuals, including Kuah and Luo, to join their secret society.
The 13th individual - 34-year-old Ong Teck Wei - did not attend the court hearing as he was arrested for alleged drug offences earlier in the morning, the court heard on Wednesday.
Court records show that he faces a similar charge over his involvement in the incident and other charges related to gang-related offences.
In a statement on Tuesday, the police said that the group had chanted gang slogans at the wake to show off their secret society links.
According to court records, Yu and Teo have other cases against them.
Yu is facing charges for offences involving duty-unpaid cigarettes while Teo is scheduled to be sentenced next month for offences related to gang activities and loanshark harassment.
On Wednesday, Mo, Lim, Lee, Luo and one of the accused under the age of 18 indicated that they would be pleading guilty to their offences.
All 13 individuals are expected to be back in court separately on various dates in September and October.
If found guilty for the gang-related offence, each man could be fined up to $5,000 and/or jailed for up to three years.
They can also each be fined up to $10,000 and/or jailed up to six months if convicted of breaching safe distancing measures.
