Members of South Korean sect blamed for virus spread arrested in Singapore

Members of a South Korean religious sect that was blamed for the country’s coronavirus outbreak were arrested in Singapore on Thursday.

The Associated Press reported that more than 20 people were arrested for “allegedly being members of an unlawful society,” referring to the unregistered local chapter of the  Shincheonji Church of Jesus. It wasn’t clear if any South Koreans were among those arrested. The AP reported that several South Korean members of the church were deported earlier this year.

Singapore’s home affairs office added in a statement obtained by the AP that the local chapter of the sect had resumed activities, a charge denied by a spokesperson for the church. The autonomous city-state implemented restrictions on attendance at religious services earlier this year in order to control the spread of COVID-19.

“In spite of the actions taken, the local SCJ chapter has resumed its activities covertly, under the direction of its South Korean parent chapter,” said Singapore officials, adding that they “will not allow members of unlawful societies or persons associated with them to threaten Singapore’s public safety, peace and good order.”

The 21 people arrested could face up to three years in prison if convicted, according to the AP. South Korean officials cracked down on the sect earlier this year after a wide proportion of the country’s confirmed COVID-19 cases were linked to the church; roughly 1 in 5 of the country’s more than 27,000 total infections can be traced to the church, according to authorities.

Singapore’s rate of new cases has flattened amid a resurgence of the virus in the U.S. and other countries. Just over 58,000 total cases have been confirmed in Singapore since the pandemic began, while 28 deaths have been recorded.

The Shincheonji Church of Jesus’s founder, Lee Man-hee, is currently awaiting trial in South Korea over allegations that his church deliberately slowed the government’s attempts to trace cases of the virus after infections appeared within the church’s members.