A Clarksons Platou Offshore shipbroker has been charged with breaching Singapore's Covid-19 restrictions by meeting friends in a bar.
He was among six men and a woman who appeared in court on Tuesday accused of breaking a coronavirus regulation near Robertson Quay on 16 May, when the country had introduced a "circuit-breaking" period of measures to halt the spread of the disease.
Neil Buchan, a 30-year-old Briton, has been with the unit of shipbroking giant Clarksons for nearly eight years. He specialises in subsea and renewables.
The CNA website said the others involved are British, American and Austrian.
They are each charged with one count of breaching Regulation 6 of the Covid-19 regulations by meeting without reasonable excuse over a period of 44 minutes in the early evening.
The University of Glasgow graduate is accused of meeting three others for a chat and a drink outside a bar called Rosso Vino.
The following day the Urban Redevelopment Authority issued a written direction to some restaurants in the area to stop selling takeaway alcohol.
The case was adjourned to 16 June and bail of SGD 3,000 ($2,140) was offered.
Buchan's lawyer Shashi Nathan said his client's charge was an Urban Redevelopment Authority one and that usually no bail is required.
But Deputy Public Prosecutor Timotheus Koh said the prosecution would be asking for bail because of the "complexion" of the case.
No pleas were entered.
The incident was brought to light when a Facebook user posted photos of the gathering.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of up to six months in jail or a fine of SGD 10,000, or both.
Clarksons declined to comment.
