Indian origin woman charged with flouting coronavirus rules in Singapore

By Gurdip Singh

Singapore, May 5 () A 40-year-old Singaporean woman of Indian origin was charged with assault, flouting coronavirus restrictions and public nuisance here on Tuesday.

Paramjeet Kaur was apprehended by the police on Monday evening for roaming with a face mask and assaulting a 47-year-old woman who advised her to put on a mask.

Kaur will be remanded at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for psychiatric observation for two weeks.

She will return to court on May 19, reported Channel News Asia.

Her defence lawyer Satwant Singh, who said he was asked by Kaur's mother to take up the matter, told the court he wanted to explain the law to his client face-to-face before she was remanded, as "she has her own rights".

Kaur told the court over a video call, "I am a living woman, and that is my only capacity in this matter. I extend my sovereign immunity to Satwant (the lawyer) and I asked Satwant to represent me."

However, the prosecution asked that Kaur be remanded immediately to facilitate investigations. In response, Kaur said: "No, no."

The prosecutor argued that Kaur had to be put under observation to check if she is fit to plead.

District Judge Clement Tan agreed with the prosecution, saying that the court should first be satisfied that Kaur is fit before proceeding.

In online videos of the incident, Kaur, dressed in a purple tank top and without a mask, is seen arguing with a member of the public.

In another clip, she is heard arguing with others, saying: "I'm a sovereign, I am a sovereign."

This was not the first time Kaur had flouted safe distancing measures which are mandatory to control the spread of the deadly coronavirus in Singapore.

In April, Kaur was fined by the National Environment Agency after she breached the 1-metre safe distancing rule while purchasing food at a hawker centre.

Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam commented on Facebook on online videos circulating in Singapore on the lady's behaviour.

"In the past few days, several have shared a video of a lady, refusing to obey instructions from officers, not wearing a mask, and saying she is "Sovereign".

The same lady had some days ago, also refused to wear a mask in a market.

"She is being investigated for both incidents," said the minister, who checked up what she might have meant by referring to "sovereign".

"There is a movement in the US, and adherents to that movement, (broadly speaking) reject the government, reject the police and any kind of authority.

"Well and good. But then such people should not live within society - she should not expect any of the benefits that come from this system of governance, including her security, medical care, other benefits," said Shanmugam.

"If she doesn't follow the rules and (say) ends up infecting someone - why should society accept that? Or if she falls ill herself, she will be imposing a medical burden on the rest of the society - whose rules she rejects, presumably. Very odd.

"Usually, in such cases, there will be more to it than meets the eye," said the minister concluded. GS INDIND