Woman refuses to wear mask at People’s Park Centre, tells officer it’s her problem if she dies

Singapore—Some people seem to be having difficulty following the more stringent circuit breaker rules put in place by the Government in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus, which has so far infected 3,252 and killed 10, as of the update from the Ministry of Health (MOH) on (Tuesday, Apr 14).

And while the official announcement from the Government requiring people to wear face masks while out and about in Singapore was not made until Tuesday, enforcement officers have been reminding people to go out in public in masks for the last few days.

This did not go over well with one auntie, who simply refused to wear a mask.

In a video posted on Facebook on Monday (Apr 13), a middle-aged woman can be seen telling an officer at People’s Park Centre in a mixture of Mandarin and English that she did not want to put on a mask.

“Everybody is wearing it,” the officer can he heard saying. She then agrees to leave People’s Park Centre, but later tells him she has asthma, and adds, “You cannot force me.”

“I am not forcing you,” he answers, “I’m giving you instructions.”

“I don’t want,” she tells him vehemently.

The officer can be seen pointing all around. “Everybody’s wearing it. Ask your son, your daughter to buy one for you.”

She tells him that she will leave soon, and he answers that he wants to give her the opportunity to buy what she needs.

The conversation continues with the enforcement officer telling the aunty, “The whole Singapore is doing it.”

She answers, “I’m an old lady. Don’t bully me.”

When a passerby tells her that she needs to stay home, as a senior, she responds with, “It’s my problem if I die.”

The aunty also told the officer, “Tomorrow onwards, I won’t go out.”

The video of the aunty refusing to wear the mask was posted on the Facebook page of a netizen identifying as Bee Bee, and has been shared 1,500 times.

People commenting on the video said that a fine would be effective in getting the woman to follow the rules.

Others commented on how selfish and stubborn she was being.

According to the latest announcement from National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry task force assigned to tackle the issues stemming from pandemic, the only exceptions to the new rule that masks are mandatory are children under the age of two and individuals doing strenuous exercises. Those who do not comply will be slapped with a $300 fine, he said at a media conference on April 14. -/TISG

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