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SINGAPORE – Police issued a stern warning to Sengkang Group Representation (GRC) Member of Parliament (MP) Raeesah Khan for two of her social media posts that came to light during the 2020 general election.
In a press release on Thursday (September 17), police said the warning was for the crime of promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion or race in their social media posts on February 2, 2018 and on May 17, 2020.
In addition, he also committed a crime of contempt by shocking the court over his 2018 charge.
For promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion or race under the Penal Code, an offender can be imprisoned for up to three years and / or fined.
Raeesah said Thursday night in an apology posted on Facebook that it was not intended to cause social unrest or division.
“I have spent most of my adult and youth life advocating, campaigning and organizing for minority causes … In my passion, I have said things in a way that may have caused harm to certain communities,” he wrote.
“I apologize for this. I will continue to learn and hope to contribute to positive change in Singapore. “
Raeesah also spoke about her recent interactions with the public in her new role as a deputy, including those with Sengkang residents and those requiring assistance.
“Through these interactions, I have also learned that, as a leader, I have the power to initiate difficult conversations and that it is vital to frame these conversations in a thoughtful and responsible way. As a deputy, I hope to use the appropriate platforms to speak about issues related to my constituents, ”she said.
“I thank everyone for their understanding and support during this time. I am very grateful for it. I will do my best to return it and will continue to use my voice in Parliament to speak frankly and responsibly on important issues. “
Police reports presented during GE2020
Two reports were filed on July 4 and 5 against Raeesah in the middle of her GE2020 election campaign.
Police then said that the Workers’ Party (WP) member had allegedly commented that Singapore police authorities discriminated against citizens and that, compared to other groups, rich Chinese and whites were treated differently according to the law.
In the context of a news article on the City Harvest Church court ruling, Raeesah also reportedly commented that Singapore “mercilessly imprisoned minorities, harassed mosque leaders but set corrupt church leaders free.” and “questioned who had been paid.”
Later, Raeesah apologized for his “insensitive” comments in a doorway interview on July 5, saying that his intention was “never to cause social divisions but to raise awareness about minority issues.” WP General Secretary Pritam Singh also said the party would support her in police reports.
She was interviewed by two investigative officers on July 27 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Raeesah said Thursday.
His four-member WP team, which included Jamus Lim, He Ting Ru, and Louis Chua, won the Sengkang GRC with 52.13 percent of the vote during GE2020.
The man who submitted reports also warned
Meanwhile, the police have also issued a stern warning to the person who filed the two reports about Raeesah. The person is a male Facebook user who goes by the nickname Abdul Malik Mohammed Ghazali.
The warning was for the crime of making a threatening communication likely to cause alarm and two additional crimes of promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion or race in two separate social media posts on February 8, 2020.
GE2020: Police Investigate WP Sengkang GRC Candidate Raeesah Khan for Alleged Comments on Race and Religion
GE2020: WP supports Sengkang GRC candidate Raeesah Khan, who apologizes for ‘insensitive’ comments
GE2020: Police investigate man believed to have made a report on WP candidate Raeesah Khan
GE2020: Not all problems ‘imported’ from the Internet are valid – PM Lee in the Raeesah Khan saga
