[ad_1]
Cara Wong, Malavika Menon
The times of the strait
May 11, 2020
A second person has been sent to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for psychiatric evaluation after a public episode involving facial masks.
Kasturi Govindasamy Retnamswamy, who refused to put on a mask correctly when told to do so, is said to have later assaulted a police officer who attempted to determine his identity.
The incident, which led to his arrest, occurred at the Sun Plaza shopping center in Sembawang last Thursday and was captured on video.
Kasturi, 40, was in court Saturday to face five charges. They include the use of abusive words and criminal force on a public servant. He is expected to return to court on May 22.
In a statement last Friday, police said the Singapore woman insulted the mall’s staff and threw vulgarities at a security officer who was trying to get him to put on the mask correctly.
A widely shared video of the incident shows a woman taunting a mall employee while demanding that he remove his mask to speak to her.
Police said mall staff asked for help at about 2.10 p.m. When police officers asked to see her identity card, she allegedly began removing the address tag on her identity card.
“When one of the police officers tried to stop her, the woman assaulted the police officer and did not cooperate,” police said, noting that the woman had been fined $ 300 on April 29 for not wearing a mask at the same facility. commercial.
“Everyone should take circuit breaker measures seriously. The police will not tolerate such blatant disregard for the law and deliberate violations of safe distance measures.” Investigations are ongoing.
Kasturi is the second person to be sent to IMH for psychiatric evaluation after an incident in public.
Paramjeet Kaur, 40, who made headlines after videos of her claim to be “sovereign” appeared when confronted with her not wearing a mask in public, was charged last Tuesday with one count of being a public nuisance and three counts of violating Covid-19 rules. The Singaporean will return to court on May 19.
Those convicted of causing harm voluntarily to dissuade a public servant from carrying out public functions shall be subject to a maximum prison sentence of seven years and a fine or caning, provided that in exceptional circumstances it is not necessary to impose imprisonment.
If found guilty of harassment using insulting or abusive language, the perpetrators face up to six months in prison, a fine of up to $ 5,000, or both.
