Ex-Singapore lecturer pleads guilty to hurting racial feelings of a half-Indian half-Chinese couple

A 61-year-old former lecturer of a Singapore polytechnic pleaded guilty on Thursday of making racial remarks against a half-Indian and half-Chinese interracial couple in 2001, a video of which went viral online, and of possessing obscene films on his mobile phone.

Tan Boon Lee, a former Ngee Ann Polytechnic senior lecturer, admitted to the two charges, while two other charges were taken into consideration, The Straits Times newspaper reported.

On June 5, 2021, Lee, a Singaporean, directed racist remarks at 26-year-old Dave Parkash, a half-Indian and half-Filipino Singaporean, who was accompanied by his girlfriend, Jacqueline Ho, a half-Thai and half-Singaporean Chinese, according to the report.

Lee crossed paths with the couple when they were walking towards a car park and commented that it was "such a disgrace, an Indian man with a Chinese girl." Ho recorded the confrontation that followed, and the video, which lasted around nine minutes, went viral on social media after Parkash shared it on the social media platform, Facebook, the report said.

In the video, Lee accuses Parkash of "preying on a Chinese girl,'' and says that a Chinese woman should not be with an Indian man.

He also told Parkash, "If you are proud of your own race, you marry somebody Indian." Lee issued a formal apology on Facebook about a month after his outburst.

Seeking four weeks in jail for Lee, Deputy Public Prosecutor Yeow Xuan said, "The racist remarks made were vile and sustained - the accused repeatedly told Dave that he should 'marry an Indian', stated that he was 'preying' on Chinese girls and even called Dave a 'disgrace' and ironically, a 'racist','' the report said.

She noted that the remarks were not just directed at Parkash, but also at Ho, Parkash's family, and the entire Indian race.

Defence lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam has sought a community-based sentence for Lee, the report said.

The lawyer added that since the incident, Tan has been publicly chastised and shamed, and also lost his job.

Thuraisingam noted that his client went for therapy in an effort to become a better person.

Separately, in June 2021, police uncovered 64 obscene videos on Lee's phone.

The videos were downloaded from online sources or sent by his friends for his personal enjoyment, according to the report.

Principal District Judge Victor Yeo said he needed time to consider submissions by both the prosecution and the defence, the report said.

Lee's sentencing is scheduled for December 29.

According to Singapore law, anyone who deliberately wounds the religious or racial feelings of a person may be jailed for up to three years or fined, or both.

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

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)