An Indian-origin woman in Singapore was walking on Friday when a passer-by allegedly abused her and kicked her in the chest.
NRI Affairs Correspondent
Images: As posted on Instagram
The police in Singapore is investigating a matter after a 55-year-old Indian origin woman was allegedly kicked in the chest and abused for not wearing her mask.
“Madam Nita, who is an Indian Singaporean, was walking from Choa Chu Kang MRT station towards the stadium at about 8.30 am on Friday when the alleged assault took place,” reports a local newspaper, The Straits Times.
The victim’s daughter Praveen Kaur has posted the details on Instagram.
“To anyone who says racism does not exist in Singapore, and we should be thankful we aren’t in countries where minorities are in physical danger, read this,” Ms Kaur posted on Instagram.
She said in her post, “My mum works near her home and bris walks to work ad her daily exercise. Yesterday she was brisk walking and had her mask on her chin (masks need not be donned for brisk walks) when a guy came up to her harassing her to put her mask up. She explained she was birks walking, but he didn’t care. He hurled vulgarities and racial slurs at her. My mum responded with a God Bless You and the guy kicked her in the chest. My mum landed on her back and hurt herself. The guy ran away, leaving my mu shaking in tears. She was too shocked to call the police and turned up to work bleeding and shaken,” Ms Kaur said in her post which is no longer available.
“Now my mum is afraid of taking a walk in her own country. I can not comprehend the hatred it would have taken to attack a complete stranger. Fuck anyone who downplays racism here. All it takes is a trigger, be it anti-CECA sentiments or blaming a country in crisis for local covid outbreaks for silent racism to manifest into violence.”
According to another Instagram account, ‘wakeupsingrapore’, the woman has filed a police complaint.
“Yes, she did eventually make a police report on the night of the attack, but their hands were tied: they can’t investigate the case without a magistrates complaint. She’s gonna get assessed by a doctor as the first step for the magistrate’s complaint,” said ‘wakeupsingrapore’ which has over 83,000 followers.
Singapore’s health ministry guidelines say people aged six and above are required to wear masks outside their homes. However, they may remove their masks while engaging in outdoor or strenuous exercise, including brisk walking or walking up hilly terrain, but must put them back on afterwards.
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