S’PORE MAN CHARGED FOR OFFENSIVE TWEETS AGAINST INDIAN WORKERS

BEIJING: Tsingapore, Jul 2 (PTI) A 34-year-old Singaporean man was charged in court on Thursday over stoking racial tensions online by posting offensive content on Twitter against Indian migrant workers here. Zainal Abidin Shaiful Bahari was handed four charges, all relating to committing acts promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion or race and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony, reported Channel News Asia. On April 18, the police received a report that a Twitter user had posted offensive content against Indian migrant workers under the pseudonym @sharonliew86.

Zainal allegedly posted a tweet under the handle @ sharonliew86 on October 11, 2019, stating Malay students in the different academic streams were not on the same level as their Chinese counterparts. On March 25, he allegedly posted a tweet under the same handle using a racial slur against Indians about safe distance in MRT trains, according to the Channel report. And on April 18, he allegedly posted a tweet referring to Indians as shooting targets. If found guilty, Zainal may be punished with a jail term of up to three years, fined, or both.