Ex-CEO is the object of ridicule for re-using mask

Ex-NTUC Income chief executive Tan Kin Lian is the object of ridicule online for possibly breaching Singapore’s mandatory mask-up rule.

The rule requires all Singaporeans to wear face masks when they are in public to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Mr Tan, who launched a bid for the presidency in 2011, said on Facebook that he has been walking six kilometres from his home to his office without wearing masks.

In a Facebook post published on Monday (28 Sept), he wrote: “Hello. I’m back to my old tricks. I walk 6 km from my office to my home. Don’t tell the insane ministers I don’t wear masks, okay?”

In an earlier post, published on Saturday (26 Sept), Mr Tan revealed that he has been wearing the same disposable mask for over a dozen uses.

Countering the claim that reusing the mask to such an extent is unhealthy, Mr Tan argued that he hasn’t died yet. Making light of the strict mask rule, he wrote:

“I have been wearing this surgical mask more than a dozen times I did not wash it. Scaremongers tell me the mask will collect bacteria and the virus and is unhealthy. Tell you what – I have not died yet.

I wear the mask because the insane ministers instructed the bus drivers to disallow passengers without masks. They are waiting for me to die from suffocation. Evil or not?”

Disgusted by Mr Tan’s habits, netizens pointed out that reusing a disposable mask may cause a health hazard to people who come in contact with him though he may still seem healthy.

Others ridiculed Mr Tan online for not abiding by the rules, asking how he once served as the chief executive of the labour movement’s insurance arm.

Some asked whether Mr Tan was serious or trolling his followers while others speculated about whether he could be suffering from dementia. Some commented whether there are other condition that makes him post such remarks: