A Briton in Singapore has been sentenced to six months in Singapore jail after he boarded a train without a face mask on.

Benjamin Glynn was sentenced by a Singapore court on Wednesday, local media reported after he was secretly filmed one afternoon on his way home from work on a public train. He refused to wear a face mask and was accused to have repeatedly breached coronavirus protocols.

Glynn was found guilty on four charges over his failure to wear a mask on a train in May and at a subsequent court appearance in July, as well as causing a public nuisance and using threatening words towards public servants.
Glynn was earlier subjected to a psychiatric assessment ordered by the judge as a result of his conduct and remarks in court.

Glynn’s passport was confiscated, so he couldn’t return to the UK as planned with his partner and two children – aged five and two.

According to media outlet CNA, during court proceedings, Glynn who represented himself in court asked the court to drop what he called “unlawful charges” and asked for his passport to be returned so that he could go back to Britain to be with his family,

CNA quoted the judge as telling Glynn that he was “completely misguided” in his belief that he was exempt from Singapore’s laws on wearing masks.

In Singapore, it is mandatory to wear a mask when residents leave their homes. The country is well-known for its enforcement of strict rules and has jailed and fined others for breaking Covid-19 regulations. Some foreigners have had their work permits revoked for rule breaches. The city-state has kept its coronavirus outbreaks under control, in part due to its strict enforcement or measures.