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SINGAPORE – Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Monday (May 10th) that he was “disappointed and seriously concerned” by an alleged racist attack on a woman for not wearing her mask while briskly walking.
He said in a Facebook post that the attack “goes against everything in our multiracial society, and against the mutual respect and racial harmony that are so dear to us.”
He added: “It damages our international reputation more than we realize.
“I understand that people are stressed out because of Covid-19 and worried about their work and their family. But that does not justify racist attitudes and actions, let alone mistreating and physically assaulting someone because she belongs to a particular race, in this case Indian. The victim turns out to be Singaporean, but even if she hadn’t been, the attack would still have been bad and shameful. “
Prime Minister Lee said he was confident the police would establish the facts and bring the perpetrator to justice.
He said: “There is no room for such behavior here. We must stand united against racism.”
Several other ministers also commented on the incident in their Facebook posts Monday evening, calling it “disturbing” and “unacceptable”.
Ms. Hindocha Nita Vishnubhai, 55, said she was walking quickly from the Choa Chu Kang MRT station to the stadium around 8:30 a.m. last Friday when the alleged incident took place.
The private guardian, a Singaporean Indian, had an argument with a man who is believed to be in his late twenties, who shouted racial slurs at him for not wearing his mask over his nose and kicked him foot in the chest before fleeing with a woman who accompanied him.
Ms Nita suffered scratches to her arm and hands as a result of the incident and filed a police report on Friday evening.
Madam Hindocha Nita Vishnubhai was walking quickly from the Choa Chu Kang MRT station to the stadium when the alleged incident took place. PHOTO: HINDOCHA NITA VISHNUBHAI
In a Facebook post, Minister of Law and Home Affairs K. Shanmugam said: “From the lady’s version, this appears to be a racist and xenophobic attack. Unacceptable.”
Sustainable Development and Environment Minister Grace Fu, in her message, urged the public to keep in mind Singapore’s core value, unity as a society.
She said: “While Covid-19 has brought out the best in people in difficult situations, with a lot of people stepping forward to help those in need, it is unfortunate that discriminatory behavior and even xenophobic attacks violent events resulting from fear and intolerance have also been observed around the world.
“We have felt outraged when Asians have been attacked simply because of their race in other countries. Let us not allow such behavior to take root here. As we fight this unprecedented pandemic, it is more. important than ever for our communities to unite and foster greater cohesion. “
Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung, Second Minister of Manpower Tan See Leng and Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office Tan Kiat How also weighed in on the incident in separate social media posts. .
Mr Ong said: “Any of us would have been horrified to hear that Asians in other countries were the target of violent hate crimes due to Covid-19. We are now seeing verbal abuse and even physical against members of the Indian community here in Singapore.
“It is deeply disturbing. This is not Singapore and what we stand for. It is only by standing together that we can defeat this virus. Discrimination and racism are worse than the virus.”
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