Police Officer Seen With Mask Half-On, Netizens Say It Prevents Specs From Fogging Up

Traffic Police Officer Operates Camera With Mask Half-On, Not Covering Mouth & Nose

UPDATE (20 May, 3.25pm): Police are currently looking into the case. According to STOMP, the traffic police officer is being investigated for not wearing his mask properly.

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We all know that wearing masks at all times when you’re out is now compulsory, with the exception of strenuous exercise like running.

It’s no doubt uncomfortable, but completely necessary.

Still, wearing masks could pose a greater hindrance to some, especially spectacle-wearers, as they tend to cause lenses to fog up.

Some netizens speculate that this could be why a traffic police officer was seen with his mask half-on while operating a camera on an overhead bridge yesterday (17 May).

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Traffic police officer seen with mask half-on

The video shared to Facebook group SG Dirty Fella showed what appears to be a traffic police officer operating a camera on an overhead bridge.

As the videographer walked past him, it was clear that the officer’s mask was half-on — it did not cover his mouth and nose.

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This upset some netizens, who felt that he was obligated to wear his mask properly.

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Netizens pointed out spectacles could fog up

While most comments on the video expressed their dissatisfaction with the officer not wearing his mask “properly”, some netizens pointed out that he could have had reasons for doing so.

Spectacles and masks aren’t really a good combination as masks tend to trap the air we exhale. That air ends up causing spectacle lenses to fog up.

For illustration purposes
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With foggy lenses, the traffic police officer wouldn’t be able to see, and hence might not be able to operate the camera properly.

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Another netizen pointed out that foggy lenses could affect his concentration too.

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MS News has reached out to the Singapore Police Force (SPF) for comments on the incident and will update this article when more information is available.

Keep masks on when you’re out

We can’t disagree that the traffic police officer should have worn his mask ‘fully’, but given his proximity to the camera, there’s a good chance that it could have caused some fogging issues there too.

If it was really preventing him from doing his job properly, perhaps some adjustments might be required.

Nonetheless, we should all keep our masks on at all times now when we’re out and about, in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Featured image adapted from Facebook and blog.japanesecreations. Picture on the right is for illustration purposes only.