In the last few months or so, something even more contagious than the coronavirus has been spreading: bigotry.
Several incidents with racial attacks have been reported during this period, the most famous of which led to the dismissal of a certain Ngee Ann Poly lecturer.
Another incident that drew the ire of netizens took place at Pasir Ris Park in May this year, where an Indian Singaporean man-made xenophobic remarks towards an Indian expatriate family.
It now appears that the man had already been dealt with.
Man Given Stern Warning Over Racist Remarks Towards an Indian Family at Pasir Ris Beach
The 47-year-old man had been given a stern warning back in June for his offensive remarks, the police told CNA on Tuesday (18 Aug).
They said the man was being investigated for public nuisance and uttering words with deliberate intent to wound the racial feelings of others.
Investigations revealed that the offender had stopped his behaviour once another member of the public intervened, “without any further escalation”.
After consulting with the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the police said it issued a stern warning to the man on 22 June for an offence of causing alarm under the Protection from Harassment Act.
Forgot what happened? Here’s a brief recap:
Said “Bloody Indians, Go Back” to Indian Family
It all started with a viral video of a man insulting and yelling at an Indian family at Pasir Ris Park.
In the video, a belligerent man in grey can be seen shouting at another man in pink. The man in grey constantly accuses the other of not wearing a mask and “challenging” him.
The hostile man keeps repeating the fact that he served National Service (NS), and asks the other man: “Where did you serve your NS?”
He then went on to make xenophobic remarks.
“This is my country. Back off. Maintain your distance,” he said.
“You are coming here. You are spreading the virus”.
According to the woman behind the camera, who had spoken to Mothership following the incident, she was at the park that day with her husband and two children.
As they walked by the man, he allegedly shouted in their direction, “Bloody Indians go back, spreading virus here.”
The family ignored the man’s comments at first, but when he repeated his taunts after they walked past him again, the woman’s husband finally confronted the man.
She said he carefully avoided making any xenophobic comments once they started recording him.
The family said they were at the park for two and a half hours and had worn their masks the entire time, only removing them briefly to have a drink.
The woman said she and her family had been living here for the last decade and were shocked that something like this happened.
We were too.
For intending to wound the racial feelings of others, the 47-year-old man could have been jailed for up to three years, fined up to S$5,000, or both.
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