'Badge lady' Phoon Chiu Yoke claims trial for going maskless again, influencer Xiaxue takes witness stand

SINGAPORE: After being jailed in 2021 for flouting several pandemic-era regulations, a Singaporean woman who shot to online infamy for repeatedly not wearing a mask returned to court on Friday (Feb 24) to contest another three charges of the same nature. 

Phoon Chiu Yoke, 55, is also accused of failing to show up for an investigation last year by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) for not wearing her mask. 

She faces four charges in total, including for failing to wear a mask twice along Orchard Road - outside Mandarin Gallery mall and outside a Victoria's Secret store - on Mar 6 last year; and for failing to wear a mask in ION Orchard in August last year.

The alleged incident at Orchard Road was captured by social media personality Xiaxue, who was filming on the street outside Mandarin Gallery when Phoon appeared in the video frame behind her. 

Xiaxue - whose real name is Wendy Cheng - and her cameraman Kent Lee Chee Hao, were adduced as prosecution witnesses on Friday, the first day of Phoon's trial. 

Phoon appeared in court without a lawyer and represented herself. 

Opening the trial before District Judge Tan Jen Tse, Deputy Public Prosecutor Heershan Kaur said the prosecution would call seven witnesses, including officers from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB). 

According to Ms Kaur, after Phoon was spotted not wearing a mask, she was served three orders to attend an investigation with STB, with the last session being on Mar 31, 2022. Phoon did not attend to any of these orders, said the prosecution. 

Mr Lee, a student, testified that he was recording Xiaxue and members of the public on a camera when the alleged incident occurred on Mar 6, at around 3pm. 

Mr Lee said he was looking out for people who might walk into his shot when he noticed Phoon and alerted Ms Cheng, who was speaking to a member of the public in front of the camera. 

He said Phoon appeared without a mask but was not drinking, eating or consuming medication. 

Cross-examining Mr Lee, Phoon repeatedly challenged how he could identify himself in CCTV footage played in court and objected to video footage admitted in court as evidence.

She said the figure in the CCTV footage appeared to be an "average-size human being" which "could be a man or woman". 

"If the mask is covering your face, how (do I) confirm it is you?" said Phoon, who also asked Mr Lee why he was wearing a mask.

Mr Lee replied that they all had to wear a mask at that time. He also maintained that he could reproduce the clothing he was wearing and camera he used. 

Taking the stand after Mr Lee, Ms Cheng said that after coming across Phoon that afternoon, she decided to use her iPhone to film the older woman.

Asked why, Ms Cheng said: "It's generally to my advantage to post things that are interesting to the public, so I recorded her, and also I wanted to check if it was really her so I used the camera zoom function."

At one point, Ms Cheng decided to approach Phoon to be in the video. 

"I approached her and asked if she would like to be in our video and be interviewed and have a chance to win prizes," said Ms Cheng.

"She looked ahead ... I took that to mean 'no' ... so I asked her 'are you the badge lady?', after that she just continued walking and I didn't chase after her."

In 2021, Phoon was dubbed "badge lady" by netizens, for demanding to see the badge of a person who had asked her to wear a mask.

Asked about Phoon's demeanour, Ms Cheng said she looked quite "aloof" and behaved in she thought to be an "arrogant manner" while "milling around aimlessly". 

"I felt like she was quite cold like she didn't really appreciate being spoken to." 

As Ms Cheng was interviewing a passerby on camera, Phoon walked into the camera frame behind Ms Cheng. Ms Cheng then told her videographer Mr Lee to film her. 

Ms Cheng maintained that Phoon did not wear a mask and did not appear to be drinking, eating or consuming medication.

The trial will resume on Friday afternoon with more prosecution witnesses expected to testify.

PHOON'S PAST CASE

Phoon made headlines in 2021 after a video of her maskless at Marina Bay Sands went viral.

While attending her court case then, she was filmed removing her mask outside the State Courts, and received another charge for this.

She was jailed 16 weeks' in September 2021.

A year after she was handed this jail term, she was charged afresh with her current charges. 

Wearing a mask outdoors in Singapore was only made optional on Mar 29 last year. That was extended to indoor areas - except on public transport and in healthcare facilities - on Aug 29 last year. 

If convicted of failing to wear a mask when required, Phoon could be jailed for up to a year, fined up to S$20,000 or both as a repeat offender. The penalties are the same for a repeat offence of not complying with an officer during investigations under the Infectious Diseases Act.