Singapore authorities are investigating alleged racist comments posted online regarding the recent devastating Nepal floods and Singapore Airlines' (SIA) investment in Air India. Local police have identified and questioned five individuals in connection with the remarks, as confirmed by the Singapore High Commission in India in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.
The five people questioned by the officials are aged between 29 and 66, Channel News Asia reported, citing police.
Also Read | 'Snake, curry, black magic': Racist posts target Indians in Singapore; PM, home minister condemn remarks
Police action into the alleged comments
The police confirmed they received reports about the online comments related to both matters, and a probe is underway, according to the report.
{{/usCountry}}The police confirmed they received reports about the online comments related to both matters, and a probe is underway, according to the report.
{{/usCountry}}The police noted that they have taken a serious view of the conduct that may hurt racial feeling of incite hostility.
Also Read | Massive tax bill clouds sale of Singapore land by Malaysian king’s son
Singapore minister on racist comments online
Earlier on Saturday, Singapore's home affairs minister K Shanmugam noted that the police were investigating the alleged racist comments online about the flash floods and the SIA investment.
The senior minister said that the death toll in the Nepal-Tibet flash floods is over a thousand, while several are still missing. He said that even after the disaster, such remarks continued to circulate online.
According to the report, Shanmugam gave examples of online remarks about the missing Singaporeans, including "No they are not our own", "I only see Indian faces here. Skip. Rescue cut".
The minister added that "anti-Indian, racist ranting" online, such as "references to snakes, curry, pratha, black magic," also surfaced online as Air India sought fresh equity from shareholders, including SIA.
Before this, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, in a post on Facebook, emphasised that Singapore must never allow prejudice against any community to become accepted or normalised.
"Unfortunately, we have seen an uglier side emerge online. After the devastating floods in Nepal, racist comments were made about Singaporeans who remain missing. More recently, questions about SIA’s investment in Air India have been accompanied by anti-Indian abuse," he had said.
Singapore govt on SIA investment in Air India
Singapore's minister for transport Jeffrey Siow told parliament on Tuesday that SIA's ability to serve Singaporeans is not affected by its investment in Air India, Channel News Asia reported.
Meanwhile, the report noted that SIA said on Tuesday its investments in India have been, and will continue to be, funded through internal resources.