Man Jailed for Making Racist COVID-19 Remarks & Spitting At a Woman on Bus

In the eyes of the law, there is no tolerance for racism in Singapore.

In the eyes of the people, well, prejudice and racist mindsets might be condoned and even proliferated.

As if we didn’t have enough racial attacks towards the Asian and South Asian community after the emergence of COVID-19 and its variants.

33-year-old Raymond Joshua was sentenced to four months and three weeks in jail on Friday (4 Jun) for his racist actions towards a mother and daughter pair on a bus last year.

According to TODAYonline, the young man pleaded guilty to one charge each of harassment and using criminal force on the victim, as well as another charge for failing to turn up for urine tests while under a drug supervision order.

In addition, three other charges—including breaching COVID-19 laws by failing to wear a face mask over his nose and mouth at all times—were taken into consideration when sentencing.

Details of the Incident

Last year, on 2 July, the 36-year-old victim and her mother boarded bus service 109 from the bus stop opposite Sengkang General Hospital at around 9:30pm.

Joshua had drunk some liquor at his fiance’s home and was onboard the same bus.

As reported by CNA, the closed-circuit television footage (CCTV) showed that he repeatedly shifted around the seats near them and gestured with his hands towards the victim.

Around 9:45pm, Joshua said to the young woman, “You China people bring coronavirus. You China ah. You China ah. Singapore have Indian, Malay and Chinese.”

He then stood very close to her and told her that the virus started because of the Chinese, encroaching on her personal space.

The victim then pushed him away, but he responded by spitting at her after pulling down his face mask.

He turned to another passenger who sat in front of him and questioned her in Tamil: “The Chinese are disgracing us…and why are you not saying anything about it?”

She did not dare to respond and continued looking at her mobile phone.

During the incident, a commuter called the police and Joshua was soon arrested.

Drug Supervision Order

In addition, the court heard that Joshua was placed on a two-year drug supervision till 7 April 2021. As such, he was required to perform a urine test at Ang Mo Kio Police Division headquarters twice a week.

He had failed to turn up on 42 occasions.

He explained that he had been staying at his fiance’s home in Sengkang and thus, it was too “far” for him to travel to the police station in Ang Mo Kio.

Hello, this is Sengkang to Ang Mo Kio, not South Korea to Australia.

Don’t Respond To Stress With Irrational Hate

The prosecution highlighted that Joshua had committed his offences while the pandemic was “still at a heightened level” and sought a jail sentence of four months and three weeks.

Joshua, who was unrepresented, said that he was very “shameful and remorseful” over the incident and that he has turned over a new leaf.

He asked for leniency to move on forward with his life and get married, and also wished to defer his sentence by a month.

However, District Judge Eugene Teo rejected his request and emphasised that such behaviour could not be tolerated.

“The important thing is not to respond to those stressors with irrational hate. That benefits no one,” he expressed.

For using criminal force, Joshua could have been jailed up to three months, fined up to S$1,500, or both. For using insulting words, he could have been jailed up to six months, fined up to S$5,000, or both.

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