SINGAPORE - The police have clarified that they do not actively check homes for people breaking circuit breaker rules, but will take action if they come across such cases in the course of dealing with other complaints.

The police referred to circulating text messages that suggest they are going door to door to catch out those who have invited people who do not live with them to their homes.

"This is not true. The police urge the public not to spread unsubstantiated information which may cause public alarm," they said on Tuesday (April 14).

They cited a family dispute in a residential unit in Jurong West Avenue 1 that led to the police issuing a warning to a couple for breaking Singapore's heightened safe distancing measures.

In that incident, the police said a man - who did not live in the Jurong West unit but was at the family gathering there on April 11 - first sought the police's help over a family quarrel.

It was only after the call that the police went to the unit and found that the man and his wife, who was also there, were at the unit for non-essential purposes. The duo were then issued with a warning.

In a separate statement, the police also refuted claims that they had arrested a man on April 10 in Killiney Road for being out during the circuit breaker period.

Instead, the 49-year-old man was arrested for drunkenness in a public place and causing public nuisance.

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Under the month-long circuit breaker measures that are expected to last till at least May 4, people should not leave their homes for non-essential purposes and should only interact with those who live at the same address.

Those who flout these rules can be fined $300 or charged in court, depending on the seriousness of the offence and whether the person had committed similar offences before.