SINGAPORE: A woman who has been in and out of court for failing to wear a mask when it was a requirement has received a new similar charge.
Phoon Chiu Yoke, 55, on Friday (Oct 7) received one charge of failing to wear a mask over her nose and mouth while in ION Orchard for about 15 minutes.
She allegedly did so between 11.48am and 12.03pm on Aug 16, 2022, days before the mask rule was lifted in most places except on public transport and in certain places like healthcare settings.
Phoon now faces four charges in total. She received the other three in September, for failing to wear a mask twice along Orchard Road in March, and for failing to attend an investigation.
Her case was adjourned to Oct 14, when she will return to court for a pre-trial conference.
She had previously said that she intends to plead guilty.
This is Phoon’s second round of offences for failing to wear a mask. She was sentenced to 16 weeks’ jail in September last year for the first set.
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.