By now, ‘Badge Lady’ Phoon Chiu Yoke is no longer a stranger to the courts, having appeared countless times for breaching mask-wearing rules.
Friday’s (24 Feb) Court session, however, must have stood out, due to the high-profile witness who took to the stand.
Influencer Wendy Cheng — better known as Xiaxue — was reportedly called to appear in court as a witness for the trial involving Phoon. In particular, Phoon was facing charges for allegedly going around without a mask on at Orchard Road.
Xiaxue reportedly described Phoon as being “cold” and “aloof” and said that the former naval officer simply walked away after she tried confronting her.
On Friday (24 Feb), Phoon returned to court to contest four charges — two involved her alleged failure to wear a mask along Orchard Road on 6 Mar 2022, a few weeks before masks became optional outdoors.
The Straits Times (ST) reported that the prosecution called on Xiaxue and her cameraman Kent Lee as witnesses on the first day of the trial.
The pair allegedly saw Phoon walking down Orchard Road without a mask on and captured footage of the incident.
Testifying first was Mr Lee, who said that the incident happened at about 3pm when he was recording Xiaxue and other members of the public.
Claiming to have been on the lookout for people who might walk into his shot, Mr Lee said that he then caught sight of Phoon. Upon doing so, he immediately alerted Xiaxue to Phoon’s presence.
He noted that the 55-year-old didn’t have a mask on although she wasn’t eating, drinking, or consuming medications.
Testifying next was Xiaxue, who said she saw Phoon while filming and decided to take a video of her.
Source: Xiaxue on Facebook
Referring to Phoon as ‘Badge Lady’, Xiaxue said she was cautious of getting too close to avoid being too “confrontational”.
But at one point, she decided to approach Phoon to ask if she’d like to feature in her video. Channel NewsAsia (CNA) quoted Xiaxue as saying:
I approached her and asked if she would like to be in our video and be interviewed and have a chance to win prizes.
Phoon, however, allegedly ignored the question and simply looked ahead — which Xiaxue interpreted as a ‘no’ to her request.
The 38-year-old influencer then followed up by asking Phoon if she was indeed the ‘Badge Lady’. Phoon purportedly responded in a similar way and continued walking.
When asked to describe Phoon’s demeanour, Xiaxue said she appeared “aloof” and behaved in a way which came off as “arrogant”.
She added that Phoon was “quite cold” in a way that shows “she didn’t really appreciate being spoken to”.
More prosecution witnesses are expected to testify later in the day.
Phoon currently faces four charges:
Phoon first gained infamy after a video of her being unmasked at Marina Bay Sands went viral.
While attending her court case, Phoon reportedly removed her mask outside the State Court and received another charge for this.
Phoon was sentenced to 16 weeks’ jail in September 2021 for nine charges of violating Covid-19 regulations.
A year after receiving the jail term, Phoon was handed her current charges.
As a repeat offender, Phoon faces a jail term of up to one year, a fine not exceeding S$20,000, or both for failing to wear a mask when required.
The repeated offence of not complying with an officer during investigations comes with the same penalties.
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Featured image adapted from Xiaxue on Facebook.
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