A British man has been jailed for two weeks for sneaking out of his Singapore quarantine hotel room to visit his fiancee.

Nigel Skea was also fined 1,000 Singapore dollars (£540) for breaking coronavirus rules in the city-state.

Skea, 52, left his room at the five-star Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore hotel without wearing a mask on three occasions in September to visit his then fiancee – now wife – Agatha Maghesh Eyamalai in a nearby room.

She pleaded guilty to one charge of aiding Skea and was sentenced to a week in jail.

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District judge Jasvender Kaur said the sentences were meant to send a “clear message” that restrictions should be followed.

The court was told that on one occasion during his quarantine, Skea climbed an emergency stairwell in order to get into Eyamalai’s room where they spent nine hours together.

Most travellers have to stay in an assigned hotel room or at home for 14 days after arriving in Singapore. They receive meals and regularly record their temperatures.

“Every instance of non-compliance is a threat to public health,” Judge Kaur said.

Defence lawyer Dhillon Surinder Singh said his clients had “mixed feelings” about their sentences, but would not appeal

The couple had faced a sentence of up to six years in jail and a fine of 10,000 Singapore dollars (£5,340) on each charge.

Skea is the first Briton to be jailed in Singapore for breaking coronavirus rules. A handful of others have had their work passes revoked and paid fines.

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