Taking deep offence over news that a foreigner was only given a fine for punching a Singaporean teen, 63-year-old Tang Koon Huat got on social media to vent his frustration.
Instead of the usual angry post or submission to fake news sites, the Singapore Polytechnic lecturer set up a Facebook page called ‘Act for Singapore’, where he shared racist sentiments. Oh, and he called for a vigilante group to beat up “troublesome” Caucasians.
The retired Singapore Polytechnic lecturer has since pleaded guilty to a charge of making an electronic record containing an incitement to violence, The Straits Times reports.
Tang’s public exasperation with Caucasians began in 2014, following the outcome of a court case involving a road rage incident between a 19-year-old polytechnic student and a British man. On Nov 30 that year, the teen lost control of his car and collided with a taxi that had the Brit and his wife as passengers. The Brit man angrily got out of the taxi and punched the student in the face.
In court, the careless student paid a composition fine for inconsiderate driving, while the Briton was given the maximum fine of $5,000.
Tang was not happy with the aggressor getting off with a fine. Under the moniker of ‘Emett Haqq’, he set up the Act for Singapore page and posted articles of interest to his agenda. It was on Jan 14 last year that Tang wrote a post using racially offensive terms to refer to the Brit man’s court appearance.
In that post, he said that it was time to form a “Singaporean vigilante group” to assault unruly Caucasians in drinking joints to teach them “a lesson”.
Months later, on April 15, Tang was arrested after authorities identified him to be the man behind ‘Emett Haqq’. The elderly gent admitted that he created the Facebook page due to his negative perceptions about foreigners and the declining number of “native Singaporeans”.
The prosecution has since asked for at least three months’ jail for the man. The matter has been adjourned to May 16 for mitigation and sentencing.
