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SINGAPORE – A man caught on video verbally abusing a store supervisor with vulgarities and racist comments was fined $ 4,000 on Wednesday (December 9).
Mohamed Ali Ramly, 53, pleaded guilty to one count of harassment and hurting the supervisor’s racial sentiments, as well as one count of not wearing a mask over his mouth and nose while away from his home.
According to court documents, the Singaporean left his residence by bicycle on April 17 with the intention of buying soy milk in nearby stores.
He cycled to three stores in the area near Pioneer Mall and the Pioneer MRT station, but was turned away because he was not wearing a mask.
Later, Ali went to the Li Li Cheng Minimart at Block 651 Jurong West Street 61 around 6 p.m. that day.
He picked up a carton of soy milk and tried to buy it from Chinese citizen Wang Jian, 32, who was the cashier at the time.
Later, Ms. Wang informed him in broken English that she was unable to serve him as he was not wearing a mask.
Court documents indicate that Ali became nervous and repeatedly asked why he was denied service.
[[nid:498110]]Alarmed, Ms. Wang began recording her actions using her mobile phone.
Ali then yelled obscene words and made a vulgar hand gesture at her.
She responded by saying that she would upload the images she was recording on the social media platform Facebook.
Ali replied that she had simply forgotten about her mask and just wanted to buy an item.
He subsequently uttered various racist insults, including attributing the source of the Covid-19 pandemic to the Chinese people, and again made another vulgar gesture.
[[nid:476851]]A police report was released the next day, April 18, after a video clip of the incident circulated online.
For making comments to hurt Ms. Wang’s racial sentiments, Ali could have been jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.
He could also have been jailed for up to six months, fined up to $ 5,000, or both, for his crime of stalking.
For not wearing a mask over his nose and mouth when outdoors, he could have been jailed for up to six months, fined up to $ 10,000 or both.
This article was first published in The times of the strait. Permission is required for reproduction.
