There are days when we get really bizarre news like this.
Phoon Chiu Yoke, known by the derogatory epithet “Badge Lady” for refusing to wear a mask at Marina Bay Sands, is expected to be given more charges.
According to The Straits Times, the charges were mentioned but not in detail as the prosecutor asked for a three-week adjournment to the hearing, except that they involve the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA).
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These charges will come in addition to the seven she already faces, including failing to wear a mask at public places, which is an offense under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act with a jail term for up to six months for first timers and a year for repeat offenders. It also carries a fine of up to S$20,000.
The self-represented former naval officer asked that these charges be dropped, stressing that she had been “an eyewitness or plaintiff” in cases related to the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), which would make it hard for her to have a fair hearing.
She is “not privy to discuss all these cases in court here without causing embarrassment or being prejudicial to the SAF and to the Government of Singapore,” further citing her history of good conduct to defend herself.
Well, whatever good conduct you had in the past, it has clearly ended by now.
Phoon is “applying for all these charges to be dropped”, arguing that she “should be granted immunity as a citizen.”
Well, if there is any logical connection whatsoever in that argument, I missed it. Maybe it’s my mask preventing me from seeing the Higher Wisdom.
But that’s okay, because I will have immunity as a citizen as long as I immediately enlist in the SAF. So does half of the Singaporean population, I guess.
District Judge Janet Wang entertained none of her nonsense, and replied that earlier cases have no relationship to the set of charges she’s currently facing.
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Phoon also defended herself by arguing she had returned from a holiday and was unaware of laws requiring her to wear a mask, even though she had already been summoned to court once before for—you guessed it—not wearing a mask.
She proceeded to refuse wearing a mask on multiple occasions over a year, at places including Clarke Quay Central and Bras Basah Complex.
She was arrested on 25 May, and remains on an S$8,000 bail while waiting for a further hearing on 6 July.
Feature Image: Facebook (AlEx ThAm)
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