Woman accused of insulting judge at Benjamin Glynn trial handed 3 new charges

SINGAPORE - A woman charged with shouting insults at a district judge during the trial of Benjamin Glynn, a Briton who claimed to be a “sovereign” after he was caught not wearing a mask in public amid the Covid-19 pandemic, was handed three additional charges on Monday.

Lee Hui Yin, 52, also known as Tarchandi Tan, is now accused of three counts of failing to attend in obedience to an order from a public servant.

The Singaporean currently faces seven charges in total, two of which involve using criminal force on a public servant and a charge each under the Protection from Harassment Act (Poha) and the Miscellaneous Offences Act.

Lee’s new charges pertain to her allegedly not attending a State Courts hearing on Sept 15 and failing to appear at Central Police Division Headquarters for investigations on Aug 10 and 31, even though she was legally bound to do so.

On Nov 10, she is said to have spat on the faces of two police officers when she was in a police vehicle travelling along Keppel Road at around 1.20pm.

The next day, she was charged in court with one count each of harassment and behaving in a disorderly manner over her alleged actions during Benjamin Glynn’s trial on Aug 18, 2021.

In an earlier statement, the police said Lee was seated in the public gallery at the State Courts on Aug 18, when she was asked to step out of the courtroom to adjust her mask, which was askew.

She then allegedly used insulting words towards District Judge Eddy Tham, saying “this is a ridiculous kangaroo court”, “if the kangaroo court requires me to wear a mask”, and “I do not respect the judge”.

Lee is also accused of behaving in a disorderly manner that day by shouting in a public place and behaving in an unruly manner in the courtroom during Glynn’s trial.

Glynn, 41, had earlier contested four charges over not wearing a mask, harassing the police and being a public nuisance.

The former recruitment consultant was then convicted and sentenced to six weeks’ jail.

He was deported to Britain in August 2021, and is barred from re-entering Singapore.

Lee, who is in remand, told the court on Monday that her boyfriend is present to bail her out.

She also said that she had previously been kidnapped by sex traffickers and has a history of anxiety and panic attacks.

Lee will return to court for a pre-trial conference on Dec 14.

For each count of failing to attend an order from a public servant, she can be jailed for a month and fined up to $1,500.