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Police report lodged against ex-NTUC staff's Facebook post
By S Ramesh | Posted: 08 October 2012 1427 hrs
A police report was made against a former NTUC employee over racist remarks posted on Facebook
SINGAPORE: A grassroots leader from the Hougang single-member constituency has made a police report against former NTUC employee Amy Cheong for her racist remarks which were posted on Facebook.
The secretary of the division's inter-racial confidence circle, Lionel de Souza, has posted his police report on his Facebook page.
He told Channel NewsAsia that he lived through the racial riots in Singapore and felt such remarks should never be allowed to be made here.
In his police report, he said that the remarks made by Amy Cheong were calculated to promote enmity between different groups on the grounds of race.
He added in his complaint that this was prejudicial to maintaining racial harmony in Singapore.
Police have confirmed on Monday that reports on the Facebook posting have been lodged and are looking into the matter.
NTUC investigates staff's alleged inappropriate Facebook post
Posted: 08 October 2012 1006 hrs
SINGAPORE: The labour movement is investigating an inappropriate comment allegedly made by one of its staff recently.
In a post on its Facebook page on Monday, NTUC Membership said it was alerted of this and will have a report on its investigations in due course.
It said this is a serious concern and will be addressed shortly.
It stressed that the labour movement centres on inclusivity and will not accept words or action of any of its staff that are insensitive or offending to any community.
NTUC, or National Trades Union Congress, said this in response to a Facebook post made by an assistant director in the membership department, Ms Amy Cheong, about weddings at void decks. She made the comment on her own Facebook page.
Ms Cheong later posted another comment, apologising for what she described as a "silly comment".
She said it was a "bad judgement" which she truly regretted and added it was in no way a reflection of NTUC and its work.
NTUC sacks staff for inappropriate Facebook comments
Posted: 08 October 2012 1251 hrs
SINGAPORE: A racist online post by a member of Singapore's labour movement has cost the individual her job.
Former assistant director at National Trades Union Congress' (NTUC) membership department, Amy Cheong was sacked on Monday after it was established she had posted offensive comments on her personal Facebook page on Sunday.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on his Facebook page that he was "shocked" to hear about the incident as the comments were "just wrong and totally unacceptable".
Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said it's good NTUC acted quickly, as the comments were offensive not only to Malay-Muslims, but all citizens who value Singapore's multiracial spirit and want to take it further.
Ms Cheong's post on Malay weddings in void decks appeared on her Facebook page on Sunday afternoon.
She had several posts which attracted hundreds of comments, with many expressing unhappiness and dismay.
On Monday, NTUC initially said it was investigating the incident.
But later, Secretary General Lim Swee Say issued a terse statement saying her employment with the labour movement had been terminated with immediate effect.
This comes after it was established with Ms Cheong that she did post the offensive comments.
Mr Lim said NTUC takes a serious view of racial harmony in Singapore and has zero tolerance towards any words or actions by staff, that are racially offensive.
NTUC said it counselled Ms Cheong and highlighted the seriousness of her actions.
She has since apologised for her grave "lapse of judgement", and later posted another entry, sincerely apologising for what she described as a "silly comment".
She said it was "bad judgement" which she truly regretted, and that it was in no way a reflection of NTUC and its good work.
Meanwhile, a grassroots leader from Hougang constituency has made a police report against Ms Amy Cheong for her remarks.
Mr Lionel de Souza, who is secretary of its Inter-racial Confidence Circle, said he had lived through the racial riots in Singapore and felt such remarks should never be allowed, as it's dangerous to play the race card in Singapore."
Mr Lionel de Souza said: "I served in the Police force during the 1964 riots. I was at the scene of the riots when it broke up. I was escorting Prohpet Mohammad's procession at Kallang Road when the whole procession exploded into rioting. I was there. My colleagues and I were escorting the procession. We did our best to save lives by pushing people, the Chinese into the coffee-shop, at junction of Kallang Road and Kampung Bugis. All these come back to my mind and we should not have any racial problems that can lead to riots. Personally, I feel that insulting people's race and religion is becoming very rampant on new media. My purpose of sending the report is to send the right signals to people who are like-minded, who think they can get away by insulting a race or religion. This in Singapore, is definitely no-no. It's too dangerous to play the race card."
Later, Ms Cheong issued a second apology saying she is aware of the pain caused through her insensitive remarks on social media and that no racism was intended in her posts.
Separately, police confirmed that reports on the Facebook posting have been lodged and are looking into the matter.
Amy Cheong says sorry for Facebook post
Posted: 08 October 2012 1818 hrs
Former NTUC employee Amy Cheong. (Photo: Amy Cheong's Facebook).
SINGAPORE: The woman who posted offensive comments on her personal Facebook page on Malay weddings at void decks said she's terribly sorry.
Ms Amy Cheong said in a statement on Monday that she's aware of the pain she has caused through her insensitive remarks on social media.
She said: "Please see me as a person offering my most sincere apology."
Ms Cheong said there was no racism intended in her posts.
She said she was trying to rest and the noise was affecting her greatly; and she understands that this was not a valid reason to post the comments.
She added that she was wrong and repentant.
Ms Cheong said as soon as she realised how it has affected Singaporeans, she promptly took down her posts and apologised through Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp.
Ms Cheong, who was an assistant director of the Membership Department in the National Trades Union Congress, was sacked on Monday, a day after she made her posts on Facebook.
Social media experts have also weighed in on the incident.
Many said Singaporeans should be extra careful on what they post online, as it could lead to unfavourable consequences.
Director of Singapore Internet Research Centre at Nanyang Technological University, Professor Ang Peng Hwa, said: "In this case because the community reacted, in a way she has been punished. Because people sort of know now, this lady probably wouldn't be hired for a frontline job."
Professor Ang, who is also a member of the Media Literacy Council, said such incidents will likely occur again.
He urged netizens to be extra careful with what they post.
Ms Cheong's posts also led to netizens expressing frustration over her insensitive comments.
Just before 9am on Monday, a Facebook page called "Fire Amy Cheong" was created, garnering thousands of "likes".
At 11am, Channel NewsAsia received about a hundred comments online, to the post that NTUC was investigating the incident.
The majority were appalled by Ms Cheong's remarks about Malay weddings at void decks.
News of Ms Cheong's sacking led to over 4,000 "likes" on the Channel NewsAsia Facebook page, where some expressed shock, while others respected NTUC's "swift decision".
Noordin Mohd said Singaporeans must "respect each other's culture and religion in order to have peace and harmony". He added they must learn to be tolerant, "otherwise the repercussions can be devastating".
Shaharina Ahmad said Ms Cheong should not have posted such comments as when one posts something on Facebook, it is meant to be shared. She added schools should also perhaps stress on educating kids on the misuse of Facebook. She said there is too much unhealthy stuff on Facebook and Twitter these days.
Troy Parry said Ms Cheong was just "venting her anger and frustration, as most people seem to do on Facebook". Although she crossed the line with the racist remarks, one should "forgive and forget".
Facebook comments about Malay weddings "wrong and totally unacceptable": PM Lee
Posted: 08 October 2012 1932 hrs
SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he was shocked to hear about the offensive comments about Malay weddings made by Amy Cheong on her Facebook page.
Mr Lee said the comments were "just wrong and totally unacceptable".
Writing on his Facebook page, Mr Lee said fortunately the person has promptly apologised for her grievous mistake.
However, Mr Lee noted that damage has been done and NTUC did the right thing in terminating her services.
Mr Lee said this is an isolated case that does not reflect the strength of race relations in Singapore.
He noted that it is a sharp reminder of how easily a few thoughtless words can cause grave offence to many, and undermine Singapore's racial and religious harmony.
Mr Lee noted that it was just last week when he shared a Wall Street Journal article on why people say nasty things online that they would never say face-to-face.
He had reminded netizens that we need to be extra careful and watch ourselves.
Mr Lee said he did not expect to see such a dramatic example so soon.
In concluding his post, Mr Lee urged all to be more mindful of what is said, online and in person. He said we must always uphold the mutual respect and sensitivity that holds our society together.
Void deck noise complaints remain low, say town councils
By Vimita Mohandas | Posted: 08 October 2012 2116 hrs
SINGAPORE: The co-ordinating chairman for the 14 PAP town councils, Dr Teo Ho Pin, said there's been no noticeable trend of complaints on noise nuisance from weddings and wakes at void decks.
However, if there is a complaint, town councils will usually seek the cooperation of parties involved.
Chairman of Marine Parade Town Council Lim Biow Chuan added that complaints have remained low.
The complaints are usually about rowdy congregations or those playing games at irregular hours.
Police guidelines said all noisy activities must stop by 10.30pm.
Police said that more than one report has been lodged against former NTUC staff member Amy Cheong for her racially offensive remarks posted online.
In an e-mail statement, a spokesman said the police "are looking into the matter".
One police report was filed by Mr Lionel De Souza, a former policeman and a grassroots leader from the Hougang single-member constituency.
Mr De Souza told my paper that he wanted to send a clear signal to people "not to play the race card".
He said he was in the police force during the 1964 riots and saw "unnecessary lives lost and unnecessary spilling of blood, just because of a loose spark".
He said: "Making comments that can create racial disharmony is not something I want to see... We are living in a cosmopolitan nation. Why can't we be tolerant?"
A petition was started yesterday afternoon on a Facebook page called Stop Racism In Singapore, calling for action to be taken against Ms Cheong under the Sedition Act. It amassed more than 7,100 likes by press time.
Racist rant: Amy Cheong gets stern warning from police
Published on Mar 25, 2013
Former NTUC assistant director of membership Amy Cheong. -- PHOTO: COURTESY OF AMY CHEONG
By Joyce Lim
THE police have issued a stern warning to Miss Amy Cheong over her expletive-filled racist rant on Facebook last year.
The 38-year-old Australian and Singapore permanent resident, who has returned to her family home in Perth, confirmed to The Straits Times that she received an e-mail from the police last week informing her of the closure of her case file.
Miss Cheong, a former assistant director of membership at the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), made headlines last October after she lost her job for posting the insulting message on her Facebook page.
In it, she disparaged Malays for what she perceived to be their low-cost and lengthy void-deck weddings. She also mocked their divorce rate.
BACKGROUND STORY
A LESSON
This episode has helped me put things in perspective. I learnt to appreciate life a bit more than just working. I think everything happens for a reason.
- Former NTUC assistant director of membership Amy Cheong, in an interview with The Straits Times yesterday
