A British man who refused to wear a face mask on public transport in Singapore and who reportedly harassed the police sent to arrest him for breaking Covid rules has been sentenced to six weeks in prison in the country. He has been charged, in part, for being a ‘public nuisance’. The Guardian has the story.
The city-state, which has had comparatively mild Covid outbreaks, has taken a tough line against people breaking virus rules, and there have been several cases of foreigners being punished.
Benjamin Glynn was arrested after footage of him not wearing a mask on a train in May went viral.
The 40 year-old subsequently harassed police sent to arrest him, and refused to wear a face-covering during a court appearance last month.
According to reports, Glynn delivered a rant in court – in which he described the proceedings as “preposterous” and “disgusting” – and said masks were not effective in preventing the spread of Covid.
This prompted the judge to order a psychiatric assessment, but Glynn was deemed fit enough for the case to continue.
On Wednesday, he was convicted for breaching Covid rules, his behaviour towards police, and causing a public nuisance.
A court official confirmed the jail term to AFP on Thursday, saying it was backdated to July 19th – the date when Glynn was first remanded.
As he had already served two-thirds of his sentence on remand, Glynn was freed from prison Wednesday and will be deported, according to local newspaper the Straits Times. …
In May, nine Britons were banned from working in Singapore after breaking coronavirus rules while partying on a yacht in Santa hats.
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