Singapore PM condemns alleged racist attack on woman over mask

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has condemned an alleged racist attack on a woman of Indian descent after media reported she had been kicked and abused for not wearing a mask, in a case that is being investigated by police.

In a Facebook post, Lee said while people might be anxious and stressed because of the Covid-19 pandemic “that does not justify racist attitudes and actions, much less physically abusing and assaulting someone because she belongs to a particular race, in this case Indian”.

Local media reported the 55year-old Singaporean woman was walking briskly on Friday when a man shouted racial slurs at her for not wearing her mask above her nose and kicked her in the chest.

Face masks are mandatory in public in Singapore, but can be removed when exercising, including brisk walking.

In a statement on Tuesday, Singapore police said a 30-yearold man had been arrested for public nuisance, uttering words with intent to wound the racial feelings of others and voluntarily causing hurt.

A multicultural society, Singapore has strict laws regulating acts that could damage racial harmony.

The alleged attack comes as Singapore tightens social distancing rules and with authorities detecting a rising number of locally acquired coronavirus variants, including a contagious variant first detected in India.

Violent hate crimes against people of Asian ethnicity have risen, especially in the US, coinciding with the spread of the coronavirus first detected in China in late 2019.

Chinese form about threequarters of Singapore’s local population, followed by about 15% of Malays and 7.5% Indians. The finance and trade hub is also home to foreign workers from many countries, and has strict laws to keep harmony between different races and religions.