An American cargo pilot from Alaska is said to be the first foreigner imprisoned in Singapore for breaking COVID-19 quarantine rules, after he left his hotel room in order to buy masks and a thermometer.
FedEx pilot Brian Dugan Yeargan, 44, of Eagle River, was sentenced to four weeks in jail on Wednesday, according to several news reports. The incident occurred after officials checked his hotel room and found him missing. He was supposed to be on a 14-day quarantine after arriving from Sydney, Australia on April 3. In the two weeks before he landed in Singapore, he had flown to China, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan and the United States, according to Yeargan’s attorney.
Sen. Dan Sullivan’s office said they are aware of the situation and are looking into it.
Yeargan’s attorney told reporters that the pilot needed the items because they were in short supply back home and his wife had been ill.
There are 19 people with COVID-19 in FedEx’s workforce, according to Must Read Alaska sources. The company has over 5,000 pilots who fly all over the world.
Yeargan is a captain in the Alaska Air National Guard, and is a C-17 pilot with the 517th AS.
Singapore has had 26,000 cases of the Wuhan coronavirus, known as COVID-19. More than 90% of those infected are foreign wage-workers who live in crowded dormitory conditions, according to reports.
Singapore is known for having extremely harsh penalties, such as caning, hanging, and imprisonment. Among things that are illegal in the nation are buying or selling chewing gum, feeding pigeons, and singing songs that have obscene lyrics.
