Police refute allegations of racial bias in Bishan MRT station incident
SINGAPORE — The Singapore Police Force (SPF) on Wednesday (10 July) responded to allegations of racial profiling in relation to a video that has been circulating showing officers conducting a check on a man at Bishan MRT station.
“The Police would like to assure the public that our officers are impartial in their checks, and are trained to carry them out professionally,” said the police in a Facebook post.
They also noted that several netizens had commented on the video, “stating that such checks were targeted at Malays”. The police cautioned that such allegations are “untrue, baseless, irresponsible, and may stir up racial tensions”.
“The Police take a stern view of persons who post remarks online that could cause ill-will and hostility between the different races or communities in Singapore and they will be dealt with in accordance with the law,” they added.
Incident took place on 5 March
In the video, officers from the SPF Public Transport Security Command (TransCom) are seen interacting with a man at Bishan MRT station.
Speaking in Malay, the man tells the officers that he had seen them checking Malay people but not those from other races. He then angrily challenges the officers to check on other people while one of the officers attempts to speak to him calmly.
The police said they had verified that the incident in the video took place on 5 March. The “majority of persons checked by the same team on that same shift were non-Malays”, they said.
TransCom officers conduct random checks on people in order to “prevent, deter and detect crime and potential security incidents”, according to the police.
“Such checks are necessary to ensure that our public transport system remains crime free, and to deter would-be-criminals from committing criminal offences and terrorist acts,” said the police, noting that TransCom officers had made over 720 arrests last year as a result of spot checks.
Most of those arrested had committed serious offences such as possessing dangerous weapons or drugs, while some also had warrants of arrest issued against them.
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