A woman who says she’s an “ex-naval officer” was handed six charges in court today (May 25), five for breaching Covid-19 measures by repeatedly going mask-free in public, and one for breaching her stay-home notice.

A video of Phoon Chiu Yoke, 53, went viral online on May 15 when she was filmed at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands without a mask on. The clip also showed her arguing with a safe distancing ambassador who had approached her to put on a mask.

Phoon was subsequently arrested by the police for public nuisance and disregarding safe distancing regulations. It later surfaced that she had already flouted the mandatory mask measure on several occasions in 2020 and 2021, and was photographed in malls without a mask by members of the public.

Phoon Chiu Yoke, 53, attends her court hearing on May 24. Photo: Ili Nadhirah Mansor/ TODAY

If convicted, she could be jailed for up to six months or fined $10,000, or both (so please wear a mask, people.)

Should you find it hard to keep track, here’s a timeline:

May 8, 2020: Mask-free at Newton Hawker Centre
The Straits Times reported that Phoon allegedly did not wear a mask at Newton Hawker Centre between 7.20pm and 8pm on May 8.

June 28, 2020: Breached SHN at MBS
Phoon apparently left Singapore for a trip to the UK, and returned on June 28. She was served with a mandatory stay-home notice, which required her to be quarantined at Marina Bay Sands hotel till July 12.

During her subsequent court hearing, it was revealed that she had purportedly left her room between 8.07pm and 8.23pm, and loitered at several spots in the hotel while, yep, not wearing a mask.

Dec 2, 2020: mask-free at Clarke Quay Central mall
According to a Today article which lists Phoon’s court charges, she was reportedly spotted at Clarke Quay Central mall with her face uncovered again on Dec 2.

While this was not detailed under Phoon’s reported court charges, photos posted on the Hardwarezone forum apparently showed her shopping mask-free at VivoCity’s NTUC FairPrice supermarket about a week before Chinese New Year. In the photo, other shoppers could be seen masked up while Phoon had no mask on.

While Phoon’s earlier incidents were relatively under the radar, her run-in with a SDA at (again) MBS went viral after it was recorded by a netizen and posted online.

May 18, 2021: Mask-free at Bras Basah Complex
It appears that Phoon has a penchant for centrally-located malls, as she was spotted maskless again at Bras Basah Complex in City Hall.

Phoon was summoned to the State Courts on May 25 for her first day of trial, where she was to face a charge for failing to wear a mask at Newton Hawker Centre during the Circuit Breaker last year.

Today reported that she had showed up alone at the court entrance while holding - not wearing - a mask, and hooked it over her ear when she saw press photographers. She secured her mask over her face after being prompted by a security guard.

Phoon, who was not represented by a lawyer at press time, reportedly tried to remove her mask during the hearing to speak to District Judge A Sangeetha, who requested that she keep her mask on. The court case was later adjourned by the prosecution, pending further investigations into more alleged offences.

Initially, Phoon objected to the adjournment, asking, “Who’s going to pay for the administrative costs that would be incurred?” She later agreed to the adjournment to “exercise good faith”, but requested for the postponed hearing to not be “too long so we don’t incur any other administrative costs”.

When leaving the State Courts, she removed her mask (pictured above) and smiled at the photographers stationed outside the building.

On May 25, Phoon was arrested by the police, and appeared in court via a video link from the Central Police Division. She was reportedly wearing a disposable mask, which covered only her mouth but not her nose. District Judge Adam Nakhoda ordered Phoon to be remanded for two weeks at the Institute of Mental Health for psychiatric assessment.

Phoon asked to be released on bail and placed on a two-week SHN instead, as she claimed that she “had good conduct for the rest of my history” and was an “ex-naval officer”. She added that she was “not familiar with this new legislation that requires me to wear a mask in public”.

She explained: “I returned from Scotland from holiday for six to seven weeks and I have never heard of this regulation to put on a mask… I have never read any information required to wear a mask and that’s why I didn’t do so. For the more recent cases, I was still not aware of these Covid-19 regulations until I was informed on May 15 [at MBS].”

According to Today, Phoon said she had tried to comply with the measures but found it “very abnormal”. She also claimed that she sometimes forgets to bring a mask out or put it on.

She told the court that “I’d like to state that none of these breaches were done intentionally. I have very little information about these regulations and I’ve never seen any campaign or advertisement that asks their citizens to wear a mask.” She later asked for an “exemption” from her court-ordered IMH remand.

In an interview with Shin Min Daily News, Phoon’s father told the Chinese paper that his daughter was an ex-naval officer who left the Navy over 10 years ago, and relocated to China for a work posting with a private company. After she returned to Singapore, he observed a shift in her temperament.

He told Shin Min that he thinks Phoon, who’s unmarried and does not live with her parents, seemed to have been “swindled” by someone in China. “I’m not sure if she was cheated of her money, which dealt her an emotional blow. After she came back [to Singapore], she was a completely different person.” He also shared that he knew his daughter as a kind-hearted person who “sponsored orphans and sent money to them even when she was working in China. She also sent money to us”.

Phoon is expected to return to court on June 8.

Photos & videos: ​​​​​​​Ili Nadhirah Mansor/ TODAY, Hardwarezone, Prince Shawn/Facebook