'Sovereign' woman on trial for refusing to attend court and police investigations, spitting at officers
Lee Hui Yin (in white) at the State Courts on June 26, 2023.
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BY
LYDIA LAM
Published June 26, 2023Updated June 26, 2023
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SINGAPORE — A woman who first made the news for allegedly causing a ruckus during the trial of a fellow anti-masker was in court on Monday (June 26) for her own charges of refusing to attend police investigations and a court mention, as well as spitting at police officers.
Lee Hui Yin, who is now known as Tarchandi Tan after changing her name last year, represented herself in court.
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Supporters of the 53-year-old sat in the public gallery, including her partner and a man who previously claimed to be the prince of Singapore.
According to the prosecution, the police first investigated Lee for her behaviour in the trial of Benjamin Glynn in August 2021.
Lee had allegedly said "this is ridiculous kangaroo court" and directed a comment at District Judge Eddy Tham, saying "I do not respect the judge".
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Glynn was given six weeks' jail in August 2021 for his offences which included not wearing a mask. The British national was later deported.
The police intended to serve Lee a cautioned statement, but Lee allegedly refused to receive it. She returned all letters sent to her address by mail and refused to engage with the police when they went down to her flat three times.
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Station Inspector Noor Azhar Daud testified about how he was called to the State Courts in August 2021 to attend to a case where a woman was shouting at the judge.
He said he spoke to Lee at a holding room, took her statement and allowed her to leave, but told her that she was required to go to the police station to assist in investigations if required.
SI Azhar testified about the many letters sent to Lee at her address, which she ignored and returned. One notice to attend court was sent back to him, with the words "no such person, dead entity" on the back.
Lee also responded via email, telling SI Azhar that she did not understand why she was being investigated as the case had been over for a year, with no victim and no summons.
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"I will also state here clearly I do not wish to receive any more letter(s) from you," she wrote, saying that failure to do so would result in her taking private action.
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The prosecution played bodyworn camera footage from SI Azhar in court, showing him heading down to Lee's home in attempts to serve papers on her.
In one clip, he and another officer were shown trying to get Lee to open the door.
A man who was inside the flat with Lee said: "Don't trespass this area."
One of the officers replied: "Trespass? This is public area, common corridor."
The police tried to get Lee to take the document from them, but the man with Lee asked the officers to mail it to their address.
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When asked who he was, the man said: "I do not understand your contract. You have no business here."
SI Azhar replied: "I do not understand your contract either."
LEE CALLS THE POLICE ON THE POLICE
In another clip, the police officers tried to deliver the court document again, but Lee told them: "I'm calling the police.""Okay. We're here just to deliver the document," responded one of the police officers. "Can we just put inside? We are from Central Police Division."
"I have no business with you," retorted Lee. "I don't care. Yeah yeah. It's a business entity. It's a corporation. I have no business with them."
"What business?" asked one of the police officers.
SI Azhar testified that he and his partner waited for the police to arrive, since Lee had called for the police.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Chong Kee En said: "To be clear, you are the police right. So what do you mean you waited for the police to arrive?"
"Since we heard she also called for police, we waited for the police, probably the other police officers might convince her to open the door," said SI Azhar.
Two uniformed police officers were shown in the bodyworn camera footage attending to Lee's call.
One of them told her through the window slats: "First, this is public corridor. Second, you call for police so we are here to help you. So can you open the door so we can help you? Do you still need police assistance?"
Lee's male partner then said: "You can deal with the officers at the corridor. Can you see the IO?"
The uniformed officer responded: "As you know they are IO, they are not trespasser(s). They are here to give you document to attend court."
The outing again proved unsuccessful. Lee was eventually arrested in November 2022 by a party of police officers who waited two to three hours for her to leave her flat. She had to be carried at some point as she refused to leave, shouting that she was being kidnapped.
Lee was then remanded and charged in court, before being released on bail.
Lee submitted three videos to the judge for the trial. She asked for an "immediate dismissal" of the case and said she was not guilty because she was a sovereign citizen.
She said she suffered from panic and anxiety attacks, but the judge told her to let the court know if she felt uncomfortable so it could be managed. Because Lee was self-represented, the judge also talked her through the trial process before it began.
The trial continues. The charges relating to the "kangaroo court" remark have been stood down or set aside temporarily.
If convicted of failing to attend a police investigation, she could be jailed for up to a month, fined up to S$1,500, or both.
She could be jailed for up to six months, fined up to S$5,000, or both for failing to attend court.
For using criminal force on a police officer, she could be jailed for up to four years, fined or both. CNA
