Woman seen without mask is remanded, has bail revoked after being charged again with fresh offence

SINGAPORE: A woman who has made the headlines repeatedly after being charged with multiple counts of failing to wear a mask was remanded on Saturday (Jul 24) after being handed a fresh similar charge.

Phoon Chiu Yoke, 54, was given a new charge of failing to wear a mask in Mandarin Orchard at about 3pm on Jun 25 this year.

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

Phoon's bail of S$12,000 was revoked by a district judge on Saturday. She is set for another pre-trial conference on Monday (Jul 26).

READ: Woman seen without mask gets 14 new charges, challenges prosecutor who says she breached bail conditions

Phoon now faces a total of 22 charges, mostly for failing to wear a mask over a period of about a year from mid-2020.

She was most recently in court on Friday for a pre-trial conference. At that hearing, the judge ordered her to return to court on Aug 13 for a chamber hearing to decide how she wished to proceed on the case.

READ: Woman seen on video not wearing mask asks AGC to drop charges, claims errors in investigations

READ: Woman seen without a mask asks again for charges to be dropped, citing 'immunity' as a citizen and as an ex-SAF officer

Phoon previously told the court that the charges should be dropped, citing "immunity as a citizen" and an ex-Singapore Armed Forces officer. She also said she had eczema and other medical conditions including breathlessness.

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.