Briton filmed not wearing mask on MRT train turns up at court without mask on
PHOTO: The Straits Times, Screengrab/Facebook/Keefe Chan
PUBLISHED ONJuly 02, 2021 5:15 AMByAlexander Kyle Thirumaran
Briton Benjamin Glynn appeared in a district court on Friday (July 2) and was handed three charges including one for harassment after he was previously filmed not wearing a mask in an MRT train last month.
The 39-year-old faces one charge for an offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act and another charge of being a public nuisance.
Glynn first arrived at the State Courts building without a mask on but eventually wore one after being instructed by a security officer, according to The Straits Times.
In the infamous viral video from May, he can be heard explaining his beliefs on masks. "I'm very religious... I hate seeing uncles, granddads with a mask on," he said.
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The man who recorded the video said Glynn had earlier tried to convince an old man to take his mask off.
Soon after, he rejected a mask being offered to him by a fellow commuter and a woman is seen leaving her seat as he sits beside her.
The police told media that the Briton allegedly declared – in the train on May 7 – he would never wear a face mask.
They added that when officers went to his home a couple days later, he allegedly threatened to "knock them down".
Glynn's pretrial conference is set for July 23, and now he is out on bail of $5,000. If he is convicted of an offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act, he can be fined up to $10,000 and jailed for up to six months.
Furthermore, if convicted of harassment, he can be jailed up to a year and fined up to $5,000.
Those convicted of being a public nuisance can be jailed up to three months and fined up to $2,000.
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