Ex-property agent caught on video allegedly making racist remarks on MRT train offered $5k bail

Shaffiq Alkhatib
The Straits Times
July 2, 2021

A woman who had been caught on video making purportedly racist remarks has been offered bail of $5,000 after she was remanded at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for psychiatric observation.

Former property agent Tan Beow Hiong, 57, is now represented by lawyer Sng Kheng Huat who appeared in a district court on Friday (July 2).

He told the court he understood her IMH report was ready. The lawyer did not disclose its details.

Mr Sng also said that he will make representations to see if the prosecution is willing to consider a mandatory treatment order (MTO) for his client.

Offenders given an MTO will have to undergo treatment to address their mental issues in lieu of jail time.

Tan was earlier handed two charges over alleged acts "prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different racial groups".

She is also accused of one count of being a public nuisance.

In April, Tan is said to have maintained a channel on YouTube containing multiple videos alleging racism or harassment by people of other races.

The Singaporean was in an MRT train on April 21 when she allegedly singled out other passengers and made derogatory remarks about them.

Tan is accused of being a public nuisance on another occasion in an MRT train on May 11.

That time, she allegedly spoke loudly in a carriage, stating that she was not racist. She is also said to have made statements such as: "We are very different."

Tan made the headlines earlier this year after she was recorded grilling passengers about their race on an MRT train.

Both her YouTube channel and employment as a property agent have been terminated.

In an earlier post on Facebook, property consultancy Knight Frank Singapore said her conduct had been brought to its attention.

It added that one of its core values is to be "a responsible business to people and the community" and that it "maintains zero tolerance for hate speech and racism that threaten the foundations on which Singapore is built".

Tan, who was an associate with the company, has been delisted from the Council for Estate Agencies' public register.

In an earlier statement to The Straits Times, YouTube said her channel was removed due to violations of its harassment and cyber-bullying policies.

Tan's case has been adjourned to July 30.

For each count of committing an act prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different racial groups, an offender can be jailed for up to three years and fined.

For being a public nuisance, a person can be jailed for up to three months and fined up to $2,000.

The Straits Times

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