Indian-origin Singaporean blogger fined for posting racial remarks on TikTok
An Indian-origin blogger in Singapore was fined SGD 6,000 (about ₹4 lakh) on Friday (June 6, 2025) after he pleaded guilty to one charge of knowingly committing an act which promoted disharmony between different racial groups in the country through a post on TikTok.
Manmeet Singh's post came after he received a link from an unknown person with the alleged offensive content, Channel News Asia reported.
Mr. Singh (57), then posted a commentary about the content without verifying its authenticity.
In the commentary on TikTok, Mr. Singh claimed that Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo had made offensive remarks against Malays, a mostly Muslim community which accounts for about 15% of Singapore's six million-plus population.
He removed it once he realised that he had been "led on" by the unknown person, his lawyers told the court.
Mr. Singh is a blogger who posts about socio-political issues on TikTok, among other social media platforms.
He posted the offending content on TikTok on August 12, 2024.
The blog post alleged that Ms. Teo, when asked about racial progress during an interview with Chinese media on Singapore's 59-year development, had made an offensive remark against Malays last year. Ms. Teo is of Chinese descent.
At the time of the offences, Mr. Singh's TikTok account had around 9,054 followers. The video prompted Mr. Teo's colleagues and a reporter to ask the Minister about it.
Around four hours after the video was published, Ms. Teo told her Press Secretary about it. The Press Secretary then downloaded a copy of the video and lodged a police report.
Later that day, Mr. Singh suspected the allegations were false and removed the TikTok video. He then posted another video in which he apologised to Ms. Teo, noting that his previous allegation was probably false. Mr. Singh was arrested on February 4, 2025, and released on bail the next day.
The defence lawyers said that Singh was "racked with guilt" over his actions.
"Manmeet is not in the business of making his videos for profit or clout. His content is akin to an extension of himself and his views, which he shares because he feels responsible for raising awareness," said the lawyers.
Mr. Singh has since "deliberately steered clear of associating with other politicians to avoid controversy", the lawyers said. He also actively vets his news sources.
For promoting racial disharmony, Mr. Singh could have been jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
8 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Kerala woman accused of marrying several men and duping them, arrested
A woman, accused of marrying several men and duping them, has been arrested as she was about to marry her latest victim, a panchayat member from Aryanad here, police said on Saturday. The woman was arrested on Friday and an FIR was registered against her on the same day after her intentions were discovered by the groom just hours before the wedding, police said. An officer at Aryanad police station, where the case was registered, said that the groom found out about her previous marriages when he examined her bag while she was getting ready for the wedding. He informed the police and she was arrested, the officer said. Also Read | Three women of gang that targeted single older men arrested According to the complainant-groom, she contacted him over the phone in May by initially posing as her own mother and talked about a marriage proposal. Thereafter, she called and messaged him as herself and claimed that she was unmarried and adopted and that her mother was not interested in marrying her off, the panchayat member said in his complaint. She convinced him to get married and June 6 was fixed as the wedding date. Also Read | Two Indian brothers indicted on charges of marriage fraud scheme in US The complainant has claimed that he suffered a loss of ₹7.5 lakh that he had spent on wedding preparations. Police said an investigation has been launched to find out how many men the woman had duped in this manner. According to a preliminary investigation, the accused woman has been married 7-8 times already, police said.
Indian Express
12 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Canadian PM reveals why he invited PM Modi to G7 meet
Hours after inviting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to this month's G7 meet in Alberta, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney Friday pointed to India's status as the fifth-largest economy as a reason for the invite. Canada's action is seen as a step toward improving ties between the two countries, which had seen a sharp dip under the previous prime minister Justin Trudeau. 'As chair of the G7, it is important to invite the most important countries to attend to talk about important issues such as energy, artificial intelligence, critical minerals, and India is really at the very centre of global supply chains,' Carney said during a news conference on Parliament Hill, as reported by The Globe and Mail. Carney also said that the most populous country in the world, with the fifth largest economy, should be present at the year's G7. The two countries had downgraded diplomatic ties after Justin Trudeau, the then Canadian PM, set off a political storm in 2023 when he alleged 'potential' involvement of Indian government agents in the killing of a Canada-based Khalistan separatist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India rejected the charges as 'absurd' and 'motivated'. On Friday, Carney declined to say whether he believed India had any involvement in Nijjar's death. 'There is a legal process that is literally under way and quite advanced in Canada, and it's never appropriate to make comments with respect to those legal processes,' Carney told. Carney, however, added that Canada and India had agreed to 'continued law enforcement dialogue,' though he did not confirm whether this includes cooperation in the Nijjar investigation. PM Modi had on Friday confirmed his attendance at the G7 in a post on X, saying he congratulated Carney on his election victory and that 'India and Canada will work together with renewed vigour, guided by mutual respect and shared interests.' 'Glad to receive a call from Prime Minister Mark J Carney of Canada. Congratulated him on his recent election victory and thanked him for the invitation to the G7 Summit in Kananaskis later this month. As vibrant democracies bound by deep people-to-people ties, India and Canada will work together with renewed vigour, guided by mutual respect and shared interests. Look forward to our meeting at the Summit,' PM Modi said in a post on X. Usually, G7 host countries invite some countries as guest countries or outreach partners. Canada had so far invited Ukraine and Australia. India has been invited to every G7 Summit since 2019. Barring 2020 when the G7 huddle was cancelled by the US, the host country, Modi has attended every Summit since August 2019.
Hindustan Times
12 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Fadnavis responds to Rahul Gandhi's Maharashtra ‘poll rigging' claim: ‘Insulted voters'
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday reacted to Rahul Gandhi's claims about last year's election in the state, saying that the Congress leader is "insulting" the people of Maharashtra. Earlier today, Rahul Gandhi claimed that the Maharashtra assembly election held last year had been 'rigged' and alleged that the same would be repeated in the upcoming Bihar assembly polls. In a post on X, the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, shared his own article published in a newspaper and wrote that the Maharashtra elections were a 'blueprint for rigging democracy'. Pointing to the article, Fadnavis said that Rahul Gandhi should understand the ground reality of the Congress party's grim future. "Unless and until Rahul Gandhi understands the ground-level facts and stops lying to himself and giving false comfort and promises, his party will never win. He should wake up (from ignorance), otherwise, he will keep talking such things which are devoid of facts," he told reporters, according to PTI. Also Read | 'Completely absurd': EC on claims over Maharashtra elections Fadnavis also alleged that Gandhi has insulted the electors of Maharashtra by casting aspersions on the fairness of elections. "He has insulted voters and ladki bahins (beneficiaries of a state government scheme for poor women). I condemn his statement," he said, reported PTI. Fadnavis pointed out that the Election Commission had earlier debunked his claims with evidence and released figures of increased voters in the previous elections and the latest one. Also Read | 'Rahul Gandhi's tongue is like Pakistan': Giriraj Singh's fierce attack on LoP in Bihar "He is habituated to speaking lies. Gandhi believes that by lying every day, people will accept his claims as truth. He has made such allegations in the past. He doesn't know what he is saying. People listening to him don't understand what he says. I feel there is no need to react," he added. The senior BJP leader also advised Gandhi to stop "convincing himself, wake up, and work on the ground", claiming Congress has no future. In his post on X, the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, shared his own article published in a newspaper and wrote: 'How to steal an election? Maharashtra assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy. My article shows how this happened, step by step.' He added, 'Step 1: Rig the panel for appointing the Election Commission, Step 2: Add fake voters to the roll, Step 3: Inflate voter turnout, Step 4: Target the bogus voting exactly where BJP needs to win, Step 5: Hide the evidence.' Gandhi further said: 'It's not hard to see why the BJP was so desperate in Maharashtra. But rigging is like match-fixing - the side that cheats might win the game, but damages institutions and destroy public faith in the result.' He also urged all concerned Indian citizens to demand answers and judge the situation for themselves while evaluating the evidence. (Inputs from PTI)
