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 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.
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 previously said his client's daughter had a relationship with a man of another race before, and this weighed on Tan's mind when he saw the couple.
Tan lost his job after the incident.
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.
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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 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.
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 previously said his client's daughter had a relationship with a man of another race before, and this weighed on Tan's mind when he saw the couple.
Tan lost his job after the incident.
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.
Continue reading...