Update: The police announced on May 9 that they have arrested the man for allegedly causing public nuisance and flouting safe distancing measures.
On the same day a woman was handed a 2-week jail term and fined S$2,000 for not wearing her mask and being a public nuisance, another man was filmed on the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) refusing to wear a mask.
According to Facebook user Keefe Chan who posted this video on May 8, the incident happened on the evening of May 7 on a train that was headed towards Redhill, which is on the East West Line.
"I will never wear a mask"
In the video, a Caucasian man is seen talking to someone off-screen saying, "I will never wear a mask.".
The man, who remained very calm throughout the video, then proceeds to sit on an empty seat — sans mask. His actions prompt an adjacent female commuter to get up.
The man goes on to say that he is "very religious", "[loves] human beings" and "hates seeing [unclear] with the masks on".
As he continues talking, another other commuter on his left got up, and gestured to the person off-screen to stop because "you're just giving him attention only".
As the train picks up speed, the man asks if the person off-screen has done his research on a bizarre range of topics including, Bill Gates, Freemasons, Jesuits, and the United Nations.
"I've researched this quite a lot and it's not good," he says.
A chunk of the conversation cannot be heard clearly, but as he is talking, a person walks over to pass him a mask. The man makes a face and says: "I'm not going to f*cking put (unintelligible) on my face."
The person off-screen then tells him that wearing a mask is actually quite comfortable, but the man appears unconvinced.
He later asks the person off-screen if he would be happy if his kids are "injected with the vaccine".
SMRT makes police report
SMRT, the train operator which runs the East West Line, posted an update today (May 9).
It said that whenever its staff are alerted to such incidents, they would request commuters to don their masks. Failure to comply would result in a TransCom activation.
With regard to this incident, SMRT said that it has made a police report.
"We do not condone socially irresponsible behaviour that affects the safety of others, and strongly encourage our commuters to keep their mask on at all times and avoid talking on trains."
Top images via Keefe Chan/Facebook.