Singapore — Phoon Chiu Yoke, or the woman now also known as “Badge Lady”, had her application to be released from remand without bail rejected on Wednesday (Aug 4).
The 53-year-old currently faces 22 charges in total. Phoon told the court through a video link on Wednesday that she has accepted the prosecution’s offer to proceed on nine charges and have the others taken into consideration for sentencing. She also expressed that she intends to plead guilty next Thursday (Aug 12).
She also asked for her passport to be returned on account of her “stellar professional record”, claiming that she had “not maliciously or wilfully committed any other offences”. But DPP Lim noted that this was because she has been on remand.
District Judge Terence Tay noted that Phoon had re-offended from the moment she was set to claim trial to one charge in May. She had turned up to the State Courts without a mask on and was given a fresh charge over this.
Phoon was infamously caught on camera refusing to wear a face mask, despite being asked to do so by safe distancing ambassadors.
She was spotted repeatedly asking for the safe distancing ambassadors’ badges as they advised her to wear a mask while queueing at Marina Bay Sands. “If you have no badge, why are you asking me to do something?” she was heard saying. “Who are you representing?” she asked.
According to a Straits Times report, Phoon allegedly failed to wear a mask over her nose and mouth “at all times” at Newton hawker centre between 7.20 pm and 8 pm on May 8 last year. She is also said to have not worn a mask in places such as MBS and Tiong Bahru Market in numerous instances between May 8 last year and May 24 this year.
She is also accused of breaching her SHN at MBS that she was required to serve between Jun 28 and Jul 12 last year on five occasions. Phoon allegedly left her room twice on Jul 8, and once each on Jun 28, Jul 5 and Jul 9.
She once again urged the prosecution to drop the new charges against her, saying that she suffered from eczema and sometimes breathlessness, which were reasons for her not to wear a mask.
Previously, in court on Jun 8, Phoon repeated four times that she was a naval officer with a “strong professional standing”, and asked for 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.
If convicted, Phoon could face a jail term of up to six months or a fine of up to S$10,000, or both, for each of the 22 charges. /TISG