Woman seen in viral videos not wearing mask asks AGC to drop charges over ‘procedural errors’

• Phoon Chiu Yoke faces seven charges, mostly for failing to wear a mask in public
• She made news after being filmed at Marina Bay Sands on May 15
• She has been released from a two-week assessment at the Institute of Mental Health 
• Phoon asked for the charges to be dropped, stressing she was a naval officer
• She is out on S$8,000 bail

SINGAPORE — A 53-year-old woman who refused to wear a mask in public — including at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) integrated resort — repeatedly asked for the charges against her to be dropped, citing various “procedural errors”.

In seeking a lower bail amount, Phoon Chiu Yoke on Tuesday (June 8) also stressed that she was an “ex-naval officer of professional standing”, saying that she had been in service for 12 years. 

She added that she was the “first female commanding officer”. 

TODAY's checks showed that a 2015 book to mark the 50th anniversary of the Singapore Armed Forces stated that “Lieutenant-Colonel Tay Poh Leng and Major Phoon Chiu Yoke were the first women to command (Singapore’s) warships in 1999”.

Phoon has just been released from a two-week psychiatric assessment at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH). Details of this were not revealed in court.  

District Judge Janet Wang offered her S$8,000 bail on Tuesday and told her to follow Covid-19 laws.

Phoon faces seven charges, six of which were for failing to wear a mask in public. 

One was for breaching a stay-home order to stem imported coronavirus infections in June last year, when she returned from the United Kingdom.

Last month, she turned up in court to contest one of the charges for failing to wear a mask at Newton Hawker Centre.

After a judge adjourned the trial, she was photographed removing her mask and smiling at news photographers as she left the State Courts.

She was hauled back to court the next day, when she said that she did not know she had to wear a mask in public and found it “very abnormal”.

ASKS JUDGE WHAT COVID-19 LAWS ARE

On Tuesday, she told District Judge Wang that she would like the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to drop the charges “and for me to be discharged”, citing “a series of procedural errors” made by an investigation officer.

She also said that she has a medical history, which, “in most other cases, most other people would be bereaved or totally dependent on a respiratory system”.

When the judge asked if she would like legal representation, she said that she wished to defend herself. 

Phoon claimed that before she was released from IMH, she was given a “copy of the court outcome” and was told that the case would be dropped.

District Judge Wang asked if she wanted to ask AGC about this. She replied: “I would need legal advice on this.”

She later claimed that the investigation officer did not “clarify” her identity when she was arrested again last month and the authorities did not produce an arrest warrant.

As for the bail amount, Phoon said that she had asked for a lower sum of S$3,000 rather than the S$10,000 sought by a police prosecutor.

“(This is because) I am an ex-naval officer… I don’t think the charges are serious enough to ask for such a high bail,” she added.

District Judge Wang ultimately imposed S$8,000 bail, warning Phoon that she must not reoffend while out on bail and that she must comply with laws to combat Covid-19.

Phoon then asked: “Could you clarify what are the Covid-19 restrictions?” 

To this, the judge replied: “It’s the laws everyone is abiding by, such as putting on a mask in public places.” 

Phoon agreed to do so.

Several hours after the hearing, she posted bail and walked out of the State Courts with her mask on. 

She told District Judge Wang earlier that her family members in Singapore, who could be her bailors, were either ill or “very old”, and that most of her friends were overseas.

Phoon will return to court next Tuesday. 

A police prosecutor asked to observe her compliance with bail conditions for a week and said she could face more charges.

Phoon first made headlines on May 15 after video clips of the incident at MBS and other purported instances where she failed to wear a mask circulated on social media and messaging applications.

In a video taken at MBS, Phoon was heard questioning a safe-distancing ambassador: "If you have no badge, why are you asking me to do something? Who are you representing?”

Phoon allegedly entered the shopping complex in the integrated resort without wearing a mask, despite repeated advice from the safe-distancing ambassador to do so.

If convicted under Covid-19 laws, 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 seven charges.