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SINGAPORE – From the penal code to the protection against harassment law, lawyers say Singapore has a series of laws to guard against racist comments.
They apply whether the comments were made online or involved a non-verbal gesture made in public. The law can also be invoked even if there was no intention to hurt racial or religious feelings.
Take the case of Zainal Abidin Shaiful Bahari, 35 years old.
On Tuesday, June 8, the Singaporean was sentenced to three weeks in jail for comments he made on Twitter that he said were a parody account satirising race-insensitive Singaporeans.
Impersonating “SharonLiew86”, Zainal sent several offensive racist tweets in 2019 and last year.
Ms Diana Ngiam, one of his attorneys, told the Straits Times that her client did not specifically direct the tweets to an individual. But he was still responsible for committing acts against racial harmony – an offense under the Penal Code.
She noted that this offense simply requires the offender to know that his actions would promote hostility between different religious or racial groups, or that they are detrimental to the maintenance of racial or religious harmony and are likely to disturb the public peace.
The matter is in the spotlight after a number of incidents have recently come to light on social media.
One involved a professor at Ngee Ann Polytechnic allegedly directing racist remarks against a Métis couple while they were in Orchard Road last Saturday.
The speaker can be heard in the video telling the couple that it is a shame for a Chinese woman and an Indian man to be together. He also said that the Indian man was “going after a Chinese girl”.
The lecturer has since been suspended from his teaching duties by the school and is currently assisting the police in their investigations.
While such comments are not meant to hurt racial feelings, they can lead to prosecution. But the bar set for such scenarios is high, said Ms Christine Low, partner at Peter Low & Choo, citing a 2007 parliamentary debate.
The issue was raised in parliament last month when Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam pointed out that groups in Singapore have stoked the flames of xenophobia and racism here.
He highlighted the alleged assault on a woman, Madame Hindocha Nita Vishnubhai, on May 7. The 55-year-old was walking quickly to Choa Chu Kang Stadium when she had an argument with a 30-year-old Chinese man.
The man yelled racial slurs at her for lowering her mask under her nose even though the Singaporean Indian explained that she was exercising. He then kicked her in the chest.
A Chinese man shouted racist slurs at Madam Hindocha Nita Vishnubhai for lowering her mask under her nose even though she explained that she was exercising. He then kicked her in the chest. PHOTOS: HINDOCHA NITA VISHNUBHAI
He was then arrested.
Lawyers point out that people who comment to other people of the same race can also break the same laws.
On May 2, a local Indian allegedly made abusive remarks towards an Indian family and confronted the male family member for not wearing his mask. The incident was filmed and later broadcast online.
In the video, the Singaporean is seen directing xenophobic comments against the man, telling him not to “come and spread the virus”. The second man said he drank the water.
The Singaporean was subsequently arrested and investigations are ongoing.
Lawyers note that outside of racial enmity laws, authorities can investigate such actions under the Protection from Harassment Act and the Sedition Act.
There are also other provisions of the Penal Code that could apply, such as public nuisance.
Mr. Shashi Nathan, partner and head of dispute resolution at law firm Withers KhattarWong, said the specific facts would determine the offense.
After Mr. Dave Parkash, the man who confronted the speaker, shared the video on Facebook, some netizens asked him if he himself was at risk of breaking the laws.
Mr Nathan said: “If ultimately (Mr Parkash’s) intention was to raise awareness or even show what happened, then I don’t think it is to incite racial unhappiness … He is the victim. “
The background to the video upload should also be taken into consideration, Ms Low said, adding that Mr Parkash is unlikely to be prosecuted as he reproduced the speaker’s alleged racist comments when posting the video.
Mr Parkash had told ST in a previous interview that he uploaded the video to raise awareness that racism persists in Singapore, although he didn’t expect it to go viral.
By posting the video online, he hoped people would know that it is “not okay to shame other people because of their race and skin color,” he said.
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