American cargo pilot jailed in Singapore for breaking quarantine order

An American cargo pilot in Singapore was arrested and sentenced to four weeks in prison after he willingly ignored a quarantine order to buy medical supplies, as the small city-state has enforced strict penalties for those who break its safety guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic.

FedEx pilot Brian Dugan Yeargan left his hotel room for three hours to buy masks and a thermometer, despite being issued a 14-day quarantine order after arriving to Singapore with his two co-pilots on April 3, The Associated Press reports.

On April 5, when health officials came to check on Yeargan, he wasn’t in his room. Yeargan said he was buying the medical supplies in preparation for his flight home the next day.

Yeagan’s defense lawyer Ronnie Tan said that health supplies were in short supply in Anchorage, where Yeargan and his wife reside.

“In his address in court, Yeargan said he was sorry, he made a poor judgment and that he shouldn’t have gone out,” Tan told the AP.

Ultimately, the court ruled that Yeargan should’ve asked someone to get the supplies for him.

Singapore has over 26,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Penalties for not adhering to social distancing guidelines, wearing a mask or breaking a quarantine order can be up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $10,000 USD, or both, the AP says.