Ex-Ngee Ann Poly lecturer gets jail for making racist remarks against interracial couple

SINGAPORE: A former Ngee Ann Polytechnic lecturer who made racist remarks against an interracial couple in an incident that went viral last year was sentenced to jail on Thursday (Dec 29).

Tan Boon Lee, 61, was given five weeks' jail and a fine of S$6,000. He had pleaded guilty last month to two charges of wounding a person's racial feelings and possessing obscene films.

Two other charges of committing acts that he knew were prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different religious groups and which were likely to disturb the public tranquillity were taken into consideration.

Tan was a lecturer with Ngee Ann Polytechnic's engineering department when he went to Orchard Road on Jun 5, 2021.

When he was in the vicinity of Angullia Park, he saw Mr Dave Parkash, 26, with his girlfriend, Ms Jacqueline Ho.

Tan crossed paths with them and said it was "such a disgrace, Indian man with a Chinese girl".

He added that the Chinese "don't like it" when "you're preying on Chinese girl", and said: "If you are proud of your own race, you marry somebody Indian."

He also said: “You do not see a Chinese guy going to an Indian girl. There is a reason. There is something wrong with the race, there is something wrong with the colour. If she is an Indian, you may not like her. She is Chinese.”

Mr Parkash is a Singaporean who is half-Indian and half-Filipino, while Ms Ho is half-Singaporean Chinese and half-Thai.

Ms Ho recorded the ensuing confrontation and the video went viral on social media after Mr Parkash shared it.

His post read: "My name is Dave Parkash. I am a Singaporean. Today I feel embarrassed, humiliated and hurt by how I was treated by another fellow Singaporean."

Tan admitted to making the racist remarks. He said he felt that interracial relationships were "taboo", "predatory" and something that "no Chinese parents would want for their daughters".

According to him, it was racist for Indian males to pursue girls of lighter skin tone and they were deliberately inciting social disharmony by doing so.

He also felt that it was Mr Parkash who was trying to stir hatred by posting about the incident online.

During investigations, the police found 64 obscene videos from Tan's phone depicting women having sexual intercourse and other acts.

Tan claimed that the videos were filmed with the parties' consent, downloaded from online sources or sent by his friends.

He knew the films were obscene and possessed them for his personal enjoyment, court documents stated.

PROSECUTOR CITES CASE OF AMOS YEE

Deputy Public Prosecutor Yeow Xuan sought at least four weeks' jail for Tan for the racist remarks and a fine for the obscene films.

She cited the case of Amos Yee in seeking the jail term, noting that the racist remarks by Tan were "vile and sustained".

Former YouTuber Yee was convicted in 2015 on charges of harassment and insulting a religious group over comments he made about Christians.

Tan had ironically called Mr Parkash racist, and said the situation was more egregious than in Yee's case, where an offender "simply denigrates one religion".

Yee's offensive remarks were made in a video with no real target audience or specific victim, but Tan had targeted a couple on the streets.

Defence lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam asked for community-based sentences instead, such as a day reporting order or community service order.

Alternatively, he asked for a fine of S$5,000 and failing which, then asked for not more than two weeks' jail.

He previously said his client's daughter had run away with her Indian boyfriend, and this weighed on Tan's mind when he saw the couple.

Tan lost his job after the incident.

JUDGE'S COMMENTS

District Judge Victor Yeo called Tan's behaviour "outrageous" and "openly hostile" and said it was to the credit of the couple that they remained relatively calm and restrained despite the "unsolicited, unjustified and wholly unacceptable behaviour" by the offender.

"I could not ignore the embarrassment, humiliation and hurt felt by Mr Parkash and Ms Ho, and the public discourse generated online and in media. His conduct clearly has had a wider and adverse impact on racial relations," said Judge Yeo.

"He has clearly crossed the red line, and the harm caused in this case is not negligible nor insignificant."

He said that while Tan felt it was Mr Parkash who was trying to stir hatred by uploading the video, it was Tan who lacked tolerance towards the couple and started the entire incident.

While Tan's daughter ran away from home with her Indian boyfriend due to familial issues, it cannot be an excuse or justification for Tan's offensive and hurtful behaviour, said the judge.

Although the defence counsel had argued that Tan's words were meant to be in private and not meant to be posted publicly online, Judge Yeo disagreed.

"He found it fit to approach the couple, and publicly embarrass and humiliate them for being in an interracial relationship," said the judge.

"He was aware that Ms Ho was recording the entire incident, but he had no qualms with continuing with his racist and hurtful remarks."

He concluded that there was "nothing private" about Tan's words to the couple and that he did not mince his words nor appear to be bothered that the "blatant display of his racism was taking place" in public.

"In my view, the gravamen of Tan's vitriol is his insinuation that there is something wrong to be of a certain skin colour or race, and that one race was better than another," said Judge Yeo.

He found Tan's remarks "most troubling" as they were "highly provocative and divisive" and could potentially sow enmity and undermine the "hard-won racial harmony in Singapore", where inter-ethnic marriages are not only uncommon but celebrated.

Judge Yeo said a person's right to freedom and personal expression must be balanced against another person's right to (take) offence, and everyone in Singapore must do their part to safeguard the social fabric of society.

He cited parliamentary discussions that said the number of police reports involving racial or religious friction has steadily risen over the years and said the courts must deal with such offences firmly and severely.

The penalties for deliberately wounding the religious or racial feelings of a person include a jail term of up to three years, a fine, or both.

Those who possess obscene films may be fined up to $$40,000, or jailed for up to a year, or both.