Woman seen without mask fails in bail request, set to plead guilty

SINGAPORE: A woman who was remanded last month after allegedly reoffending by failing to wear a mask made a bid in court on Wednesday (Aug 4) to be released on bail.

Phoon Chiu Yoke, 54, failed in her attempt, with the judge noting how she had "failed to comply" with requirements and did not wear a mask outside the court previously.

Phoon is set to plead guilty next week. She said she had accepted the prosecution's offer to plead guilty to fewer charges at a pre-trial conference a few days ago.

The prosecutor stressed that the charges were not fewer, but that some of them would be taken into consideration as part of the guilty plea offer.

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Phoon faces a total of 22 charges, mostly for failing to wear a mask over a period of a year from mid-2020. She remains without a lawyer.

She had her bail of S$12,000 revoked by a judge on Jul 24, after she allegedly reoffended by not wearing a mask at Mandarin Orchard hotel on Jun 25.

She allegedly committed this offence while on bail for multiple similar charges, with specific conditions warning her not to reoffend.

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For each charge of contravening a COVID-19 control order, she could be jailed up to six months, fined up to S$10,000 or both if convicted.

If she is considered a repeat offender, she could face double the jail term and fine.