Phoon Chiu Yuke earned the ire of Singaporean netizens as her COVID-19 violations case defense came to light in several reports, on top of her anti-mask and authority-challenging viral videos.
She had officially entered Singaporean pandemic cultural history when a viral video of her mask-less in line at a mall and fearlessly challenging a patient Safe Distancing Ambassador surfaced. After the officer kept asking her to put on a mask, Phoon questioned the uniformed officer’s mandate, and asked for a badge, even when the officer was in a clear uniform.
Her defense in court, where she only donned a mask to wear inside the courthouse spurred comments of disdain and support from netizens.
Alvinology previously reported on the other cases she faced, and what her family said about the COVID-19 violations.
What did Phooni Chiu Yuke say to the judge about not wearing a mask?
On her June 8 court date, she was seen without a mask on, and only looped one behind her ear when a guard told her to. She was also about to remove a mask when she spoke to the judge.
Unrepresented, Phoon unabashedly claimed that she be granted ‘immunity’ that because she was a previously high-ranking naval officer (and reportedly one of the first female officers to ever command a Singaporean military vessel).
In another bizarre instance in court, she claimed that she was an ex-plaintiff in court, and that she knew a lot of information that would cause embarrassment to the SAF or the Government of Singapore.
“I have a very strong professional standing, not only in Singapore, but globally… I served in the navy for 12 years and was the first female commanding officer,” she said in court.
She was remanded for two weeks to the Institute for Mental Health for evaluation, and returned to court asking the judge what COVID-19 rules were, as she was allegedly not aware of mask rules, despite being in several documented arguments with officers on the rules.
She also violated a stay-at-home notice when she returned from the UK, where she was found to have visited several commercial establishments when she was supposed to be at home.
Netizens comment on Phoon Chiu Yuke’s bizarre defense
Since Phoon was proven to be an ex-naval officer, Singaporeans took to online forums to express their opinions on her defense.
This commenter compared her to another ex-officer from the Singapore military, calling her a disgrace.
This person insisted on supporting Phoon, saying that her stern and unbending attitude was beneficial to the Singaporean military. No mention about being able to follow rules, though.
Another commenter suggested that the video clip of her questioning the Safe Distancing Ambassador was so insane that there should be a parody about her on Singaporean television.
This person then said that since she’s not in an active role in the military, then the Ministry of Defense has nothing to do with her. But Phoon was insistent that her MINDEF years had bearing on her court case, so what could she mean?
Claims have been made that she was a warship commander, but this commenter said that the gravity of this claim even if it were true could be conflated, as being commander of a warship is quite common.
This person said that ‘warship’ was a loose term and the vessel could be of any size, most probably quite small.
And this final comment said that while she has been out of active duty, her defense revolved around her service to the military. How often do we hear about people saying being in the navy excuses them from one of the simplest rules in Singapore today?
What do you think of Phoon Chiu Yuke? Let us know in the comments!
