Blogger fined S$6,000 over TikTok video falsely accusing Singapore minister of slur against Malays
SINGAPORE, June 6 — A blogger who uploaded a TikTok video falsely accusing Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo of making racist remarks against Malays has been fined S$6,000 (RM19,745).
According to The Straits Times, Manmeet Singh Bahadar Singh, 57, pleaded guilty today to knowingly promoting racial disharmony — an offence under Singapore's laws against inciting division between racial groups.
Singh's video, posted on August 12, 2024, repeated a false claim that Teo had called Malays 'i*****' during a Chinese-language interview about Singapore's development since independence.
The claim originated from an unverified WordPress blog post, which Singh had received via WhatsApp from an unknown sender.
Without checking the facts, Singh uploaded a TikTok video captioned: 'Minister Josephine Teo blurted 'Malays are i****' in a Chinese interview'*, and repeated the blog post's allegation. He urged his followers to 'go look it up'.
'I have been voicing out for, you know, against racial discrimination in Singapore. And look what happened now? My prediction's right!' he said in the video, which ended with the words 'bring them down'.
At the time, Singh had more than 9,000 followers on TikTok. The video was 'live' for several hours — long enough for Teo to be asked about it by a reporter and colleagues. She then alerted her press secretary, who saved a copy of the video and lodged a police report.
Singh deleted the video later that day, suspecting it might be false. He then posted a second video, publicly apologising to Teo and admitting his claims were untrue.
He was arrested on February 4 and released on bail the next day.
In a statement to The Straits Times, Teo said: 'Growing up in the 1970s, I have seen for myself how precious — and fragile — racial and religious harmony is in our diverse society. It is why I do not take for granted the many friendships with schoolmates, colleagues and community leaders of different faiths or races.'
She called the accusation 'serious' and said it cast a shadow on those friendships.
'Besides feeling personally hurt, I was concerned about the hurt to my friends if things were not put right,' she added, explaining her decision to pursue a police report.
'With the sentencing passed, I hope to put this episode behind me. Our world threatens to fall apart because of all kinds of hatred and conflicts. I hope this episode reminds us all to be careful not to sow discord but instead to spread peace.'
Under Singapore law, those found guilty of promoting enmity between different racial groups can be jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.
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