Police probe virus racism

Police are investigating a racist email, reportedly sent to a parent, saying Asian people were spreading viruses and their children should stay home from school.

The email, sent to The Press by multiple sources, is being widely circulated in the local Chinese community. It was reportedly sent to a parent with Chinese ancestry whose child or children attend Rolleston School, in Canterbury.

It said: ‘‘Our Kiwi kids don’t want to be in the same class with your disgusting virus spreaders’’.

The email was sent in the context of the novel coronavirus outbreak, which originated in Wuhan, China. There have been more than 14,500 cases confirmed globally and at least

305 deaths.

Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon said the email was ‘‘ignorant and arrogant’’. He was aware of other anecdotal reports of xenophobic comments related to the coronavirus outbreak but said no formal complaints had been made to the Human Rights Commission. ‘‘I think some people are using it as an excuse to express their inner feelings of racism,’’ Foon said.

‘‘There is no place for these kinds of racist comments in these situations.’’

A police spokeswoman said police received a report about a concerning email regarding coronavirus sent to someone in the Rolleston area on Sunday.

Police had made contact with the person who reported the email and were making inquiries to find the sender.

‘‘Unlawful, abusive or threatening behaviour targeting another person or group in relation to coronavirus will not be tolerated,’’ the spokeswoman said.

‘‘Reports of racism, xenophobia, or people being targeted for any health reasons will be taken seriously and investigated.

‘‘We encourage all members of our communities to be alert to, and report, all instances of concerning behaviour to police.’’

Rolleston School principal Simon Moriarty said the school was aware police were investigating an email reportedly sent to a parent.

‘‘We celebrate that we are a multicultural community and school,’’ Moriarty said.

‘‘We do not and will not tolerate racist behaviour.’’

The school had been providing the local community with information from the ministries of education and health about the coronavirus outbreak.

‘‘At times like this communities need to come together and support each other,’’ Moriarty said.

Chinese New Zealand Hubei Association president Yi Liu, who lives in Christchurch, said the email had been widely shared within the Chinese community.

It had angered and upset people, he said. He was aware of other incidents, including people joking about coronavirus and someone running away from a friend of his in Christchurch after finding out they were Chinese. However, he thought the email, which was ‘‘antiChinese’’ and ‘‘anti-Asian’’, was the worst, he said. ‘‘It is very sad.’’

Other community leaders have raised similar concerns about racist comments related to the outbreak.

Speaking last week, Queenstown mayor Jim Boult said he had been made aware of comments on social media ‘‘which borders on racism’’.

Tour operators had also reported concerning comments to him, Boult said.

‘‘The racism issue is starting to rear its ugly head in this debate, and what I am saying is there is no place for that and what we need is cool heads and calmness to address this in a logical way.’’

In a video posted to Facebook, Rotorua councillor Fisher Wang talked about the ‘‘unfortunate racism that comes along with [coronavirus]’’, saying ‘‘noone should be told to go back to where they come from’’.

And in Auckland, there have been reports of taxi drivers refusing to pick up Chinese tourists.

‘‘We do not and will not tolerate racist behaviour.’’

Simon Moriarty Rolleston School principal