Briton filmed not wearing mask on MRT train turns up at court without mask on

The Straits Times, Screengrab/Facebook/Keefe Chan

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. 

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/keef.chan.5/videos/10165705871365571/[/embed]

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. 

ALSO READ: 'I hate seeing uncles, granddads with the mask on': Man, 39, arrested after refusing to wear mask on MRT

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.

ALSO READ: Man refuses to wear mask properly on MRT, asks fellow passenger 'are you a police dog?'

alexanderkt@asiaone.com

If you don’t like our faces, listen to our fortnightly podcast E-Junkies where we lepak one corner with famous people