What To Do If Someone Utters Racist Remarks At You?

Of late, in multi-cultural and multi-religious Singapore, there have been an increasing number of incidents where racist remarks have been uttered at others, causing them to feel distressed and alarmed. Their feelings are hurt, sometimes deeply. When such incidents are publicised, a whole race may be up in arms against such behaviour.

It is clear that the government and the majority of Singaporeans are totally against such racist remarks. This article seeks to discuss the various legal aspects of this issue, as follows:

  • Is uttering racist remarks a crime?
  • What should you do if you are the victim of such racist remarks?
  • Can you sue the person who uttered such racist remarks towards you?
  • What can you hope to obtain from a court judgment in your favour?

Is Uttering Racist Remarks a Crime?

 It may be a crime to utter racist remarks under a few statutory provisions in Singapore. We shall now discuss the various possible provisions and the respective punishments in turn.

The Penal Code

Judging from recent developments, it is most likely that the person who uttered racist remarks would be prosecuted under the Penal Code. There are 2 provisions to note.

Section 298 of the Penal Code concerns (amongst other things) the uttering of words with the deliberate intention to wound the racial feelings of any person. The mandated punishment for this offence is up to 3 years imprisonment or fine or both. It is noteworthy that there need not be any particular victim who must be shown to have had his feelings hurt. A mere deliberate intention to wound the racial feelings of another is sufficient. In ascertaining the intention of the offender, the courts have applied a broad interpretation – as long as the potentially offensive or insulting racist thoughts are publicly expressed, or expressed to another person, the courts will generally find that racial feelings have been hurt.

Section 298A of the Penal Code covers (amongst other things) the promotion of disharmony, feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different races in Singapore. Deliberate intention is not necessary here. Simply knowing that the words would be likely to promote enmity between different racial groups would still qualify. This is normally done by the legal fiction of the ‘reasonable person’. As long as it can be proven that any reasonable person would have known that such remarks would promote enmity between the races, the prosecution would have more or less done its job. If one is successfully prosecuted under this section, the punishment is up to 3 years imprisonment or fine or both.

It is also entirely possible that the prosecution may opt to charge the offender who utters racial slurs under Section 268 of the Penal Code for public nuisance. Under Section 268, a person who does any act which causes annoyance to the public is guilty of an offence (please take note that the offence also covers other situations) which is punishable under Section 290 – with a fine of up to $2,000. If he knew that the uttered words would cause or would probably cause annoyance to the public, the punishment may be imprisonment of up to 3 months, or a fine of up to $2,000, or both.

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The Sedition Act

The Sedition Act includes within the definition of seditious acts and acts of a seditious tendency any words or acts which promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of the population of Singapore. Section 4(1)(b) of the Act makes any person who utter any seditious words guilty of an offence which is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment of up to 3 years, or both.

It is noteworthy that Section 3(3) of the Act makes the intention of any offender caught under this provision irrelevant. So, it is technically possible for one to be prosecuted and punished under the Sedition Act for uttering racist remarks even if one had no intention to promote ill-will or hostility between different races. It is nevertheless prudent to keep in mind that prosecutions under the Sedition Act are few and far between in Singapore.

The Protection from Harassment Act

Section 3(1)(a) of this Act makes it an offence (amongst other things) for anyone to intentionally cause harassment, alarm or distress to another person. This in punishable with a fine of up to $5,000, or up to 6 months imprisonment, or both.

Under Section 4 of this Act, however, there is no requirement for an intention by the offender. It is an offence to use any threatening, abusive or insulting words which are seen, heard or perceived by any victim who is likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress. This offence is punishable with a fine of up to $5,000.

What Should You Do if You’re a Victim?

 First off, never escalate the situation by arguing heatedly or scuffling with the offending party. It is best to record evidence if possible, enlist the help passers-by or owners of the establishment or building you are in for corroborating evidence, calmly walk away, and make a police report.

The police will conduct their investigations and keep you informed of the outcome. In the right circumstances, the punishment meted out to the offender should suffice for you. Do take note, however, that in the majority of cases, such offenders are only administered with a stern warning.

However, you may want to sue the offender even after the police has investigated the matter and the offender has been charged and punished for the offence.

You may still sue the offender in the civil courts. This right of yours is already written into the statute if the offender was charged under the Protection from Harassment Act.

If the offender was charged and punished under the Penal Code or the Sedition Act, the court has the discretion to award you compensation. However, since only words were uttered, and since the courts have consistently awarded compensation only in deserving cases where significant physical or property damage was sustained, it is unlikely for this to work in your favour.

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