The man accused of vandalising the Cenotaph has been remanded for psychiatric evaluation. The case of security officer Mohamad Khalid Mohamad Yusop, 32, originally fixed for mention May 5, was brought forward on Thursday.

He is alleged to have spray painted the word "democracy'' and scrawled a huge "X'' cancelling out the period 1914 to 1918 on the war memorial at Connaught Drive last Tuesday evening.

The Cenotaph was erected in 1920 to commemorate the 124 soldiers from Singapore who were lost in World War I. In 1950, an extension to commemorate those who died in World War II was added. It was gazetted as a national monument in 2010.

Khalid, who is unrepresented, was arrested by the police at Handy Road last Saturday. His next court date is May 16. If convicted, he could be fined up to $2,000 or jailed for up to three years and given between three and eight strokes of the cane.