A Singaporean woman who was seen not wearing a mask and allegedly assaulted a 47-year-old woman at Shunfu Market is under police investigation for voluntarily causing hurt, causing public nuisance, and breaching safe distancing measures.
It is said that the police received a call for assistance on Sunday (3 May) at 12.16pm at 320 Shunfu Road.
The 40-year-old Singaporean woman, who had previously breached safe distancing measures, was not wearing a mask and allegedly assaulted a 47-year-old woman who advised her to don a mask, according to the police preliminary investigations.
“The Police are investigating the woman for voluntarily causing hurt, causing public nuisance and breaching safe distancing measures under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020,” the statement read.
The police said they take a serious view of “such abusive and irresponsible behaviour”, especially in the current COVID-19 situation, while urging the member of public to take the circuit breaker measures seriously and observe the safe distancing measures.
This incident was caught on video and it had been circulating on social media on Sunday.
In the footage, the Singaporean woman was seen in public without a face mask and she was also in a heated exchange with a man. The two was then approached by several police officers to dissolve the fight.
At first, the woman was grabbing onto a mobile phone that was held by a man next to her. She could be heard claiming that the phone belonged to her and she could be heard arguing with him as well.
Without the intention to give in, the man stopped her from snatching her phone from him. As he grabbed hold of the woman’s phone on one hand, he proceeded to make a phone call with his mobile phone that was kept in his pocket.
A few moments later, several police officers arrived at the scene and they could be seen talking to the woman. The man had also attempted to explain the situation to the police officers.
As the exchange was going on between the two and the police officers, a man in a hat approached the group and offered a face mask to the woman.
She rejected the face mask and asked the man to leave as she said, “Please mind your own business. Leave me alone”.
On Sunday (3 May), Member of Parliament (MP) for Bishan-Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency (GRC) Chong Kee Hiong took to his Facebook to respond to the incident of a “repeat offender who defiantly refused to don a mask” at Shunfu Market.
Mr Chong wrote, “In a previous incident, this person had been caught and fined.”
He thanked the police officers for “swiftly apprehending the offender on the spot”, and criticised the offender of “such acts of irresponsibility” while the nation is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Rest assured that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated and offenders will be dealt with according to the law. I urge all BE-T residents to keep vigilant, wear masks when outdoors, and do our part to keep each other safe,” Mr Chong added.
His comments about a repeated offender apparently confirmed the suspicion by netizens that the woman in question was also involved in a similar incident that took place last month (14 April), where the offender was found guilty of breaching the circuit breaker rules and boldly filmed the police officers.
The woman in that story, had insisted to have her meal at Shunfu hawker centre and refused to cooperate with the police officers when being advised to comply with the safe distancing measures.
She even “turned aggressive” and filmed the police officers with her phone. The police officers have later taken down her particulars and issued a S$300 fine to the woman.
As of 14 April, the Government has made the wearing of masks when leaving the house mandatory.
Except for the children below the age of two and those who are engaging in strenuous exercises such as running and jogging, anyone who found flouting the rules the first time will be subject to a S$300 fine.
A second offence will carry a fine of S$1,000 while egregious cases will be prosecuted in court. Foreigners residing in Singapore on permanent resident status or work passes will also have their status or passes revoked.
