‘Badge Lady’ Kept on Highlighting Her Career as Naval Officer When She Returned to Court

First we had the Sovereign Lady of Shunfu, and now we have the Badge Lady of MBS.

Both refused to wear their masks, and both seem to believe they’re above the law.

But now, we’ve discovered that they have a third characteristic in common: saying weird and irrelevant things in court. 

‘Badge Lady’ Kept on Highlighting Her Career as Naval Officer When She Returned to Court

The badge lady, more often called Phoon Chiu Yoke, was offered bail today (8 June) after previously being handed 7 charges.

The charges include failing to wear a mask at several locations and breaching a stay-home notice.

Typically, when you’re caught for something like this – endangering the lives of others, that is – you’d show some remorse, apologise for your actions, and accept the punishment.

Instead, Phoon told the court four times that she was a naval officer with a “strong professional standing”, and asked for all the charges against her to be dropped.

“I have a very strong professional standing, not only in Singapore, but globally… I served in the navy for 12 years and was the first female commanding officer,” she said in court.

The 53-year-old claimed there’ve been “procedural errors” on the part of the investigating officers, including an alleged arrest without a warrant.

Claiming to have made contributions to Singapore “as a pioneer”, she asked that she be offered bail at $3,000 without a surety.

In the end, the court offered her $8,000 bail.

Phoon was also told that she may face more charges in the future.

When she asked for clarification on what COVID-19 rules were, the judge replied that these were laws everyone else was adhering to, including wearing masks outside.

In other words, the judge said “What everyone else in the country is doing lah!”

Who is the Badge Lady of MBS?

If you decided to take a break from the internet after your bitcoin investments crashed last month, you may not know who this woman actually is.

She first caught public attention when she was spotted without a mask at Marina Bay Sands (MBS).

Despite multiple requests from a very patient safe distancing ambassador, she still refused to wear her mask and kept asking for a “badge”.

And so the Badge Lady of MBS was born.

Netizens later discovered that this wasn’t her first bare-faced adventure out on the streets. She had been caught at several locations around Singapore without a mask, which is why she’s now facing 7 charges.

Last month, Phoon turned up for another hearing and was seen removing her mask after leaving the State Courts building that day.

The 53-year-old had been remanded for two weeks at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) after the charges were brought against her.

The IMH report has been completed, but no details were revealed in court.

Phoon will return to court on 15 June to face additional charges.

If convicted, Phoon can be jailed for up to six months, receive a hefty S$10,000 fine, or both.

She can also be charged for causing a public nuisance, which carries a penalty of three months in prison, a $2,000 fine, or both.

Watch this video to the end to understand why wearing your masks is important:

Featured Image: Facebook (AlEx ThAm)