It was reported that a woman who refused to wear a face mask at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) is currently being investigated by the Police.
In a statement on Saturday (15 May), the Police said that a 53-year-old woman had allegedly not worn a mask despite numerous requests from a safe distancing ambassador (SDA) to do so.
The police said it received a call for assistance at about 5.15pm on Sat and are investigating her for public nuisance and breaching safe distancing measures. A video of the incident was posted online and it went viral instantly.
In the video, the woman can be seen questioning the authority of the SDAs while refusing to put on a face mask. She was heard asking the SDAs, “Well, can you put on your badge? If you have no badge, why are you asking me to do something? Who are you representing?”
When the SDA said she represents MBS, the woman replied, “That’s what you say, I can say that I’m a police.”
From the various postings by netizens, it can be seen that there were similar incidents which happened before when she was caught not wearing masks. The earlier incident was at Clark Quay Central last year and another at VivoCity in February this year.
Woman commands warship in RSN
Following the posting of the video on social media, in which she questioned the authority of the SDAs at MBS, Wanbao published a news report on Sunday (16 May) revealing that the woman was, in fact, a former naval officer with the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN).
Wanbao reported that she was among the first batch of female officers in RSN and her performance was said to be “outstanding” inside the navy. She was also said to have risen to the rank of Major and commanded a mine-sweeping vessel in the RSN.
Indeed, according to SAF50 Commemorative Book published by MINDEF, one Lieutenant Colonel and one Major “were the first women to command our warships in 1999”.
A Linkedin profile which has a profile image similar to the woman and listing a past history of being with RSN, was deleted soon after the news about the woman went viral.
In any case, those found not wearing a mask or not wearing one properly outside their place of residence may be charged for offences under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020. If convicted, they may be jailed for up to six months, or fined up to S$10,000, or both.
And those found guilty of public nuisance may be jailed for up to three months, or fined up to S$2,000, or both.
