Singapore — Local actor Tay Ping Hui expressed his opinions on the Benjamin Glynn case, the man who refused to wear a mask on the MRT, noting it is perhaps time to “punish one person as an example to warn the others.”
News of the 39-year-old British expatriate made headlines earlier in May after he was filmed explaining to passengers around him in the MRT why he believes masks are pointless.
Glynn was arrested and charged with a public nuisance offence.
It was also reported that Glynn had allegedly used threatening words towards two police officers.
Court documents noted Glynn saying, “I’m gonna f***ing drop you” to the police while adopting a boxing stance.
During his initial court hearing on Jul 2, Glynn was once again spotted not wearing a mask before entering the State Courts building and removing it when he stepped out.
He was also told twice by District Judge Lorraine Ho to wear his mask correctly.
In response to the initial MRT incident, Mr Tay took to Instagram to express his concern, calling the behaviour “pompous idiocy” and Glynn an “impertinent nincompoop.”
Mr Tay noted then that the entire country had reverted to Phase 2 (Heightened Alert), with companies reinstating stricter measures and some businesses shutting down as a result.
“I cannot help but wonder, with all the research that he’s done, did he not do any research on the legislation in Singapore regarding Covid?” asked Mr Tay.
“I think we need to ask ourselves some hard question on why he was allowed to carry on his behaviour in such a blatant manner by those around,” he said.
“More importantly, how in the world did he even think that he could get away with it?”
In a Lianhe Zaobao commentary published on Tuesday (Jul 6), Mr Tay expounded on the Glynn case, mentioning the numerous studies by the World Health Organization on the importance of wearing masks as a basic form of protection from the virus.
Mr Tay noted how some people believe they are above the law and disregard the country’s efforts in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
“When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” he reminded the public. “Regardless of our personal views, one should not scorn the laws of the land.”
He urged Glynn to respect Singapore’s culture and laws since he had chosen to make a living here while enjoying the peace and stability provided through the efforts of the government and the people.
Mr Tay admitted that Glynn’s case would not be the last. “Perhaps it is time to punish one person as an example to warn the others.”
Glynn is scheduled to return to court for a pre-trial conference on Jul 23. He remains out on bail with S$5,000. /TISG
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