Man Who Had COVID Jailed for Coughing on Coworkers

A Singapore man will spend the next two weeks in jail after deliberately coughing on colleagues while he had COVID-19 and later admitted to his actions, which he deemed a "joke."

Tamilselvam Ramaiya, 64, was sentenced Monday for intentionally putting his work associates in harm's way and even causing one of them to contract COVID themselves, according to multiple media reports. He was charged under the country's Covid-19 Temporary Measures Act, during a period of heightened nationwide restrictions in the fall of 2021.

Over 2.5 million COVID cases have occurred in Singapore between January 3, 2020, and September 13 of this year, according to the World Health Organization, resulting in approximately 1,870 deaths. Cases have increased steadily since February 2022, most recently totaling about 2.56 million as of September 17 after about 300,000 cases last year.

The Singapore Ministry of Health reports that about 81 percent of its population has at least a minimal form of protection by way of vaccination. In the United States, where positive cases in the states with the five highest COVID rates have decreased since last week, more bivalent booster shots have been rolled out to target the BA.5 omicron subvariant.

On October 18, 2021, he was working as a cleaner for investment holding firm Leong Hup Singapore when he reported for work at the business' logistics office, according to The Straits Times.

He was told by an assistant logistics manager to take an antigen rapid test (ART). His test came back positive and he was instructed to vacate the building.

But instead of leaving, Ramaiya remained in the building and attempted to speak with the same assistant manager. He was joined by a 33-year-old driver who was unaware of Ramaiya's positive test result.

The pair encountered two associates—a 40-year-old male logistics supervisor and a 56-year-old female clerk with heart and kidney issues—in an enclosed, air-conditioned room.

The logistics supervisor told Ramaiya to leave the building, warning the female employee with health issues to keep her distance.

"The accused [Ramaiya], who was initially wearing his mask, walked towards the office door and exited the office," said Deputy Public Prosecutor Sruthi Boppana in a report. "However, he then opened the office door and coughed into the office with his mask on. The accused did this twice, before the [logistics supervisor] closed the office door with his leg."

He then did it again a third time, lowering his mask to expose his nose and mouth, and coughed inside the office.

Ramaiya then opened a window from the outside and coughed once in the direction of a female clerk situated near the window. He was wearing his mask but was about an arm's length from her.

The prosecutor pushed for three to four weeks of jail time, notably due to the physical and emotional well-being of the female work colleague—a dialysis patient who suffered from cardiac and renal issues. She administered an ART on herself following the coughing incident.

Ramaiya's defense attorney, Lee Wei Yung, requested a fine rather than jail time, citing his client's own heart condition. He argued that the offense was also not committed out of malice.

Newsweek reached out to the prosecutor's office via email for comment.