Singapore Police Question Five Over Racist Posts On Nepal Floods, Air India Investment

Singapore police have identified and interviewed five people aged between 29 and 66 over online comments linked to the deadly Nepal floods and Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) investment in Air India, as authorities step up efforts to tackle racist and xenophobic speech.

Police said on Wednesday that they had received reports over online comments concerning both matters and were investigating. They warned that they take a serious view of conduct that could wound racial feelings or incite hostility and ill will between different racial groups.

“We will continue to investigate and identify those responsible for these online comments,” police said, adding that they could not provide further details because investigations are ongoing.

The investigation follows remarks by Senior Minister K Shanmugam, who on September 5 described several online posts about the Nepal-Tibet disaster as “shameful”, “nasty” and “totally unacceptable”. Nine Singaporeans had remained missing following the disaster.

Shanmugam cited posts questioning whether the missing Singaporeans were “our own” and comments targeting people of Indian ethnicity. One post used “ABNN”, a derogatory term for Indians. He said such remarks were particularly disturbing as more than 1,000 people had died in the disaster.

The controversy also spread to SIA’s investment in Air India. Shanmugam said news that Air India was seeking fresh equity from shareholders, including SIA, had triggered another wave of anti-Indian racist abuse, including references to snakes, curry, prata and black magic. An online mob also targeted Temasek executives over their ethnicity.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said the comments reflected “an uglier side” of online discussions and warned that prejudice must never become accepted or normalised in Singapore. He said legitimate debate must not be used as a cover to fuel prejudice against communities or hostility towards foreigners.

Meanwhile, SIA has said its investments in India have been and will continue to be funded through internal resources. The airline is also expected to seek stronger governance rights and greater influence over management before approving any fresh capital for Air India. Reuters reported that Air India is seeking about US$1.5 billion in fresh equity, with Tata having approved a US$1.1 billion infusion representing its share. SIA owns the remaining 25.1 per cent.