Ben Glynn decided that although living and working in Singapore, none of its many strictly enforced rules, laws and regulations applied to him. Or so he thought. He refused to wear a mask on the underground which bought him a court appearance. Even at the court he again refused to wear one. Their country, their rules I’d say but Glynn knows best.
Actions have consequences however and he was, initially at least on bail awaiting a hearing, passport confiscated until then.
Obviously a document issued and sanctioned by the Almighty himself. The self-pitying whining continued;Glynn urged the judge to return his passport so that he could travel home to Britain to see his wife and children.
'They've stolen my passport, my God-given right to travel,' he said.
Errr that sort of thing might be expected or even indulged in the UK but not out there and as a consequence it seems our brave Sovrn lost his liberty;'I can't believe this has been going on since the 8th of May,' Glynn said, according to friends.
'It's so straightforward it's so clear that this sham of a case should be dropped.'
He added: 'I'm disgusted with how the Singapore judicial system has treated me.'
At this point a woman got up in the public gallery to clap and cheer.
Oh no, not another Common Law (read amateur) Lawyer with no dress sense? That’ll sort things! Back off Singapore!Glynn has been in custody since July 19 after his £2,700 bail was revoked by the judge.
At the start of proceedings, the defendant introduced Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman as his legal representative.
Mr Rahman has also acted as Glynn's bailor, and was turned away from the court previously for inappropriate attire.
Oh. That went well. We could do with a few judges over here with this no nonsense attitude. Lookin at you EWE!District Judge Eddy Tham blocked Mr Rahman from representing Glynn because he was not legally qualified.
Anyway this brave non-advocate had a curious claim to make;
As is often the case there is a thin line between holding sovereign citizen beliefs and having a spell on a mental health ward.Mr Rahman told the judge that he was an 'ambassador-at-large and advocate of Kingdom Filipina Hacienda' and had every right to defend his 'sovereign compatriot.'
Judge Tham replied that this was 'not the position' of Singaporean law.
Prosecutor Mr Koh went on to argue that Glynn needed to be reviewed by psychiatrists because there is evidence he is not of 'sound mind.'
The article concludes with further self-entitled blathering;“(the) Prosecution has received a letter from the accused's family and friends or persons purporting to be his family and friends and in this letter, the persons report a marked change of behaviour in the accused's person that was noticeable especially after the COVID restrictions set in,' Mr Koh said, according to CNA.
The prosecutor said that in light of this new information, as well as Glynn's behaviour in court, it would not be 'prudent' to continue to trial without a medical report.
Glynn interrupted the lawyer, saying: 'The certificate of vaccine regulations do not apply to the living man and I'm well aware of this fact.
'Why have the mask regulations been dropped all over America and Europe? Because they are unconstitutional. I don't get my information from the Straits Times.'
However, Judge Tham agreed with Mr Koh and ordered Glynn to be remanded to the Institute of Mental Health until August 19.
Before he was led to the cells, Glynn called out: 'Good luck getting into the Book of Life, Mr Koh. How can you say Singapore is a safe country. Police who hunt me down like a pack of wild animals. This is not justice. This is disgusting.'
Glynn had been working for the Singaporean branch of a British recruitment company since January 2017.
Weeks before he was due to return to the UK for a new job, he was filmed without a mask on a subway near Raffles Place, the financial district of Singapore, on May 7.
In Singapore it is mandatory to wear a mask when residents leave their homes, with very few exceptions.
The clip was widely shared on social media and detectives soon tracked Glynn down.