‘Sovereign’ citizen accused of failing to wear mask found to be fit to follow court proceedings

A self-proclaimed “sovereign citizen” who is claiming trial over allegedly failing to wear a mask in public amid the Covid-19 pandemic has been found fit to plead and follow court proceedings.

Following psychiatric evaluation at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), a report from the facility also found that Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman, 57, is fit to enter his defence in court.

He appeared in a district court on Thursday and his case has been adjourned for a pre-trial conference on Nov 30.

Abdul Rashid is accused of two offences under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act.

He is said to have failed to wear a mask in the vicinity of East Coast Lagoon Food Village in East Coast Park on March 19, 2021.

He allegedly committed a similar offence within and outside the State Courts building about four months later.

Abdul Rashid first made the headlines in August 2021 when he turned up at the State Courts, claiming to be a lawyer representing British national Benjamin Glynn.

Glynn, 40, a former recruitment consultant, was earlier jailed for six weeks after being convicted of two charges under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act, as well as one count each of harassment and being a public nuisance.

The Briton, who also claimed to be a sovereign citizen, was later deported and barred from re-entering Singapore.

During Glynn’s court proceedings, Abdul Rashid had claimed to be an ambassador-at-large and advocate of Kingdom Filipina Hacienda.

Abdul Rashid had also admitted he did not have a licence to practise law, but said he was from the Kingdom Filipina Hacienda.

Kingdom Filipina Hacienda, which claims to be an autocratic sovereign monarchy in the Philippines, is not a recognised territory.

It has at its head a woman described as “Queen of the Motherland”.

On the first day of his own trial on Oct 13, Abdul Rashid had told the court the person known by his name was dead and that he was merely representing his former self.

He said that he is a sovereign citizen who cannot be governed by the laws of Singapore, and read from a document declaring his sovereignty.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Timotheus Koh then asked the court for Abdul Rashid’s mental state to be assessed, raising concerns that the accused was incoherent and would not be able to follow court proceedings.

Senior District Judge Bala Reddy agreed with the prosecution and Abdul Rashid was ordered to be remanded at IMH for two weeks for psychiatric evaluation.

After the proceedings on Oct 13, Abdul Rashid was heard saying that he had not been given an opportunity to explain his evidence.

When the police later tried to get him to cooperate, he told them: “I understand what you’re saying, but I disagree.”

He also told the officers that he had “revoked consent” to be governed more than 20 years ago.

He said: “I am not part of the society… I am the great-grandson of the sultanate of Singapore.”

When officers asked for his identification documents, he claimed that he had renounced his Singapore citizenship, and handed them a small, dark red book which was not a Singapore passport.

Two men who had accompanied Abdul Rashid to the hearing on Oct 13 later told him that they would “inform the queen” of the developments.

If convicted of flouting Covid-19 rules by not wearing a mask, he can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $10,000 for each charge.