Who Is Manmeet Singh? Indian-Origin Blogger Fined In Singapore Over False TikTok Claim
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The court found that Singh made these claims without verifying the information, which he had received from an unknown source via WhatsApp
An Indian-origin blogger, Manmeet Singh, was fined SGD 6,000 (approximately Rs 4 lakh) by a Singapore court on Friday for sharing a false claim that promoted racial disharmony.
Singh, 57, pleaded guilty to knowingly posting content on TikTok that accused the country's minister of making offensive remarks about a minority community.
The video, uploaded in August 2024, falsely claimed that Singapore's Minister for Digital Development and Information, Josephine Teo, had insulted the Malay community—who make up about 15 per cent of Singapore's population—during an interview with Chinese media.
The court found that Singh made these claims without verifying the information, which he had received from an unknown source via WhatsApp. The TikTok video was viewed widely and prompted questions to the minister from her colleagues and a journalist. A police report was filed shortly after.
Who Is Manmeet Singh And What Did He Claim?
Indian-origin Manmeet Singh is known in Singapore for posting on socio-political topics through platforms like TikTok. He previously gained attention as the bodyguard of former presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian, and his TikTok account had over 9,000 followers at the time of the offence.
On 12 August 2024, Singh received a link to a WordPress blog post from an unknown number. The blog falsely alleged that Josephine Teo had said 'Malays are i*****" during a media interview. Offended by the claim, Singh recorded a TikTok video with a caption repeating the allegation, telling his followers to 'go look it up".
However, just hours after uploading the video, Singh began to doubt the credibility of the claim and took the video down. He also posted a follow-up video apologising to Teo and acknowledged that the allegation was likely false. However, despite this, a police complaint had already been filed by Teo's press secretary.
Earlier in February, Singh was arrested and granted bail the following day. His defence lawyers had told the court that he was 'racked with guilt" and had no intent to spread hatred or misinformation.
His counsel had stressed that Singh does not create content for profit or popularity, but as a form of expression on issues he feels strongly about. He has since taken steps to avoid political controversy and now checks the reliability of his sources more carefully.
Under Singaporean law, promoting racial disharmony is a serious offence. Singh could have faced up to three years in prison, a fine, or both.
(With inputs from agencies)
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