{"id":83451,"date":"2026-09-09T10:06:53","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T02:06:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=83451"},"modified":"2026-09-09T10:06:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T02:06:53","slug":"police-interview-5-over-online-comments-on-nepal-floods-sia-air-india-deal-investigations-ongoing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=83451","title":{"rendered":"Police interview 5 over online comments on Nepal floods, SIA-Air India deal; investigations ongoing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"text-primary article-summary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">SINGAPORE \u2013 The police have identified and interviewed five people over <!-- -->certain<!-- --> comments made <!-- -->online on<!-- --> the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/asia\/nepal-flood-what-we-know-so-far?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">recent Nepal flood disaster<\/span><\/a> and discussions surrounding Singapore Airlines\u2019 <!-- -->(SIA) <!-- -->investment in Air India.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The five people are aged between 29 and 66, the police said on Sept 9.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cWe will continue to investigate and identify those responsible for these online comments,\u201d the police said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cThe police take a serious view of conduct that may wound racial feelings or incite hostility and ill will between different racial groups.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The <!-- -->authorities<!-- --> said they were unable to comment further on the details of the individual cases as investigations are ongoing.<\/p>\n<p>The<!-- --> <!-- -->police statement comes after Senior Minister K. Shanmugam on Sept 5 said that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/racist-comments-targeting-indians-shameful-nasty-and-cross-the-line-police-looking-into-them?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">the authorities<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/racist-comments-targeting-indians-shameful-nasty-and-cross-the-line-police-looking-into-them?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\"> were looking into racist and xenophobic comments<\/span><\/a> relating to the Nepal floods and Singapore Airlines\u2019 investment in Air India.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The online comments on the issues, which make references to snakes, curry, prata, black magic and other racist stereotypes, have been \u201cshameful, nasty and totally unacceptable\u201d, Shanmugam said.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Police looking into racist comments on missing S\u2019poreans in Nepal and SIA-Air India investment\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ozs35k7g8DA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Addressing the anti-Indian comments, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said in a Facebook post on Sept 6 that Singapore must <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/courts-crime\/how-we-respond-is-up-to-us-says-pm-wong-as-he-calls-on-sporeans-to-reject-hateful-comments?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">never allow prejudice against any community to become accepted or normalised<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He noted that there will always be people who seek to exploit Singapore\u2019s differences, but how the country responds is up to Singaporeans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">While not every hateful comment online can be stopped, \u201cwe can reject such views, and refuse to give them more space or legitimacy\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In a Facebook post on Sept 6, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/racist-hateful-comments-toward-indians-are-deeply-troubling-sporeans-must-reject-hatred-sm-lee?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong called on Singaporeans to \u201creject hatred\u201d,<\/span><\/a> and said it was deeply troubling to see racist comments and hateful remarks directed at the Indian community in the wake of the Nepal flood tragedy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">At times like this, the response should be compassion and solidarity, he said, adding that Singaporeans should stand by one another regardless of race, language or religion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cWhen incidents like this happen, leaders must speak up with force and conviction to call out what is happening, condemn the manipulation of base emotions, and call on all Singaporeans to stand together,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"font-primary-headline-md-semibold\" data-testid=\"article-subhead-test-id\">Singaporeans missing after Nepal-Tibet floods<\/h2>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Nine Singaporeans have been reported missing since the catastrophic Nepal-Tibet floods on Aug 26.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">On Aug 31, Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC MP Alex Yam said in a post on Facebook that he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/they-are-our-own-dinesh-alex-yam-urge-compassion-for-sporeans-missing-in-nepal-and-loved-ones?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">noticed comments that questioned whether the nine missing were <\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/they-are-our-own-dinesh-alex-yam-urge-compassion-for-sporeans-missing-in-nepal-and-loved-ones?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">\u201c<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/they-are-our-own-dinesh-alex-yam-urge-compassion-for-sporeans-missing-in-nepal-and-loved-ones?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">really Singaporeans<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/they-are-our-own-dinesh-alex-yam-urge-compassion-for-sporeans-missing-in-nepal-and-loved-ones?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">\u201d<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cWhile families wait desperately for news of their loved ones, a loud minority of people apparently looked at the names and faces of those missing and decided that this was the moment to ask whether they were really Singaporean,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Yam added that some of these comments <!-- -->wished harm on those missing<!-- -->, while others questioned why the authorities should help these Singapore citizens.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Some of the comments <!-- -->were<!-- --> not just racist, but downright heartless, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cMay we remember that before race, nationality or politics, there are frightened families hoping that someone they love comes home. And I pray we never become so angry with one another that we lose the ability to simply be human.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Dinesh Vasu Dash echoed Yam\u2019s sentiments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cAt a moment like this, our first response must be humanity. Every missing person is someone\u2019s parent, spouse, child, sibling or friend,\u201d Dinesh told The Straits Times.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cLet us be clear: Using a person\u2019s name, race or appearance to question whether that person is truly Singaporean is racism. It is wrong, and it must be called out.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"font-primary-headline-md-semibold\" data-testid=\"article-subhead-test-id\">Temasek CEO attacked online after question about SIA-Air India deal<\/h2>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/temasek-portfolio-firms-need-to-make-commercial-decisions-without-fear-of-politicisation-shanmugam?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">Shanmugam on Sept 5 had also drew attention<\/span><\/a> to the way Temasek\u2019s chief executive officer, Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, and the investment giant\u2019s senior management were attacked online after it was reported that Air India was seeking about US$1.5 billion (S$1.9 billion) of investment from its shareholders, which include SIA.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He said the attacks were \u201cvile\u201d, and included comments that said the Temasek chief executive officer would favour Air India because he is of Indian ethnicity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Temasek Holdings has a majority stake in Singapore\u2019s flag carrier.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"[FULL] Shanmugam: Police investigating recent spate of racist comments online\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3efIzLVxaAI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">With regard to the SIA-Air India deal, Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said on Sept 8 that the <!-- -->national carrier\u2019s<!-- --> investment in Air India <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/politics\/air-india-investment-does-not-impede-sias-operational-capabilities-jeffrey-siow?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">has no adverse impact on its ability to operate<\/span><\/a> and serve Singaporeans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">While SIA has a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India, the latter\u2019s finances are not SIA\u2019s, and thus its losses do not automatically become the Singapore carrier\u2019s liabilities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Siow was replying to a parliamentary question submitted by Workers\u2019 Party MP Kenneth Tiong (Aljunied GRC)  on whether SIA\u2019s losses from its foreign investments have been assessed against its capacity to provide essential transport services.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/5-people-identified-in-connection-with-comments-on-nepal-floods-air-india-police-investigating\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SINGAPORE \u2013 The police have identified and interviewed five people over certain comments made online on the recent Nepal flood disaster and discussions surrounding Singapore&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":83454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=83451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/83454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=83451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=83451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=83451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}