Woman in SGH Saga Had Tried to Apply for Student Pass Before Applying for Work Pass

You probably already know about the woman in the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) saga.

You know, the woman depicted in the viral videos where she argued with police officers?

More details about 29-year-old Chinese national Han Feizi and the charges she is facing have come out.

She apparently tried to apply for a student pass in Singapore before applying for a work pass.

Charges 

On 25 October 2023, Han pleaded guilty in court.

She was charged on 13 October 2023, with a grand total of six charges.

That’s not all, though.

On 24 October 2023, she was given another two charges related to manpower, increasing the number to eight.

Sounds confusing? Here’s a list of her charges:

• One count of public nuisance
• Two counts of using abusive language against a public servant
• Two counts of assaulting or using criminal force on a security officer
• One count of intentionally causing harassment
• Two counts under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act

Her charges follow the viral videos depicting her arguing with police officers at SGH.

The prosecution mentioned that Han was arrested on 11 October 2023.

That same day, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) received information from the police about possible violations of the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.

Investigations revealed that Han applied for a work permit in August 2023 after her student pass was rejected.

She had declared that she would be working as a clerk for KDL elements.

However, she never worked as a clerk at all.

She allegedly had no intention of working for the company.

Furthermore, she has been accused of moonlighting as a freelance hostess without a valid work pass.

The MOM prosecutor said Han only wanted to enter Singapore “to have fun”.

She filled up the application for a work pass “without attempting to understand its contents”.

For context, the application’s contents were in English.

She entered Singapore in July 2023 on an in-principle approval.

Her work permit was only issued to her in August.

Incidents Occurred when She was Drunk

Besides lying in her work permit, Han was involved in two other incidents when she was drunk.

The first incident occurred on 3 October 2023.

It involved the security guards at The Sail, a condominium along Marina Boulevard.

The location sounds refined, but her actions weren’t classy at all.

Two security guards found Han squatting at the lift lobby on the condominium’s ground floor.

Like decent human beings, they offered to help her.

Han said she lived on the 44th floor of the building, and the security guards began to help her up to her unit.

However, she suddenly became aggressive towards the male security guard.

She pointed her finger threateningly at him, prompting the guard to step back and ask Han to calm down.

In the lift, Han attacked the guard and had to be restrained.

She reportedly shouted a vulgarity at him at least five times.

The second incident occurred on 10 October.

Apparently, Han had been in a traffic accident where a Grab driver rolled over her foot.

Notably, she had consumed a bottle of alcohol and was drunk.

She was dropped off at SGH’s accident and emergency department following the traffic accident.

However, she began swearing at the hospital’s nurses.

An employee called the police in response.

She was attended to by medical staff and placed in a wheelchair when she began screaming for the Grab driver.

She accused the driver of abandoning her.

Of course, the commotion bothered the other patients.

Since we still have to wear masks in healthcare facilities, a hospital employee tried to explain this regulation to Han and asked her to put on a mask.

Instead of complying, she threw the mask on the floor and shouted vulgarities.

Recap of Viral Videos

The viral videos are linked to the SGH incident.

@garygaryocp来，先录一下，先录一下…♬ original sound – Gary

@garygaryocp新加坡制度，终究落后，需要被保护的，不被保护，不需要被保护的，却万般宠着…♬ original sound – Gary

They depicted her arguing with two police officers at the hospital.

She claimed she had been denied treatment for her injuries as she was not Singaporean.

Her claims were refuted.

In another video, Han can be seen attempting to grab a police officer’s lanyard.

The videos, which initially went viral on Chinese social media Douyin, began circulating on TikTok and other social media platforms.

Courtroom was Packed

Needless to say, Han has become infamous among Singaporeans.

Many members of the public attended the hearing.

Channel News Asia reported that the courtroom was “packed to the brim”.

Among the hearing’s attendees were young men, older men and a few women.

According to Mothership, people began waiting to enter the courtroom an hour before the hearing even started.

Han, who has been in remand for nearly two weeks, was physically absent from the courtroom.

She was in the women’s prison and listened to the proceedings via Zoom.

She was unrepresented.

Apologised for Her Actions

The Mandarin interpreter read Han’s mitigation to the court at the hearing.

She expressed her “deepest apologies and remorse”.

Stating that this was her first time living in a foreign land, she noted that she had only been in Singapore for a little over a month.

Thus, she was unfamiliar with Singapore’s laws.

She also said that she was “frantic and helpless” following the traffic accident and only made a scene in the hospital because she was in “distress”.

She highlighted that it was the first time she was away from China and didn’t expect to be caught in such a scary situation.

In her mitigation, she asked for leniency.

Han also asked for a chance to return to her family and recover from her injuries.

She added that three of her closest relatives have cancer and that before coming to Singapore, her “whole purpose was to earn as much as possible to provide” for her family.

She said that she reflected on her mistake in custody and wanted to express her “utmost apologies” for the comments she made in the videos.

She said, “I ought to exercise tolerance and greater understanding of the facts as well as the law, and I should not have reacted in the way that I did.

“I should not have shouted in public; I should not have used those words.”

She apologised again, but in English.

Han was sentenced to five weeks and five days’ imprisonment.

She was also fined $600.

More About Han

Notably, Han is an influencer in China.

She has over 265,000 followers on one of her Douyin profiles.

Shin Min Daily News pointed out that Han frequently posted content depicting her eating atas food and travelling to places like Sanya in China and Tokyo in Japan.

Thus, it is uncertain if this is truly her first time out of the country.

In May, she also geotagged another residential property, Tropika East, in one of her posts.

The property is located near Eunos, which raises questions if this is Han’s first time in Singapore.

Abuse Against Hospital Staff Common

In May 2023, it was reported that a tripartite workgroup that surveyed over 3,000 healthcare workers and 1,500 members of the public discovered that more than two in three healthcare workers had witnessed or experienced abuse in the past year.

In addition, half experienced abuse at least once a week.

That same month, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said efforts were underway to implement a zero-tolerance policy against abuse in the public healthcare sector.

It was reported that healthcare clusters would develop the policy’s details in the second half of the year.

Some details that the policy will have include a standardised definition of abuse and harassment, a reporting protocol and clear consequences that would be enforced.

Since 2021, SingHealth has also been working with stakeholders like healthcare professionals, patients and caregivers to speak up publicly against abuse.