Singapore — Beow Tan, the woman filmed harassing other commuters on the MRT and making racial remarks, was on Friday (Jul 2) released from remand and is out on bail.
Before releasing her, District Judge Lorraine Ho warned her against committing fresh offences.
57-year-old Tan Beow Hiong, faced three criminal charges; two counts under Section 298A(b) of the Penal Code and one charge of committing public nuisance that caused annoyance to the public.
The first two charges were for acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different religious or racial groups and that disturb public tranquility.
In many videos, she was seen belittling strangers she assumed were Malay while telling them that she was from the elite Hwa Chong Institution. In other videos, she was even seen harassing police officers at an MRT station.
On May 11, Tan allegedly spoke loudly on an MRT train, claiming that she was not racist and making statements such as “we are very different” and “I don’t even talk to Chinese rank-and-file like you”.
The court heard on Friday that Tan, a Singaporean, had engaged lawyer Sng Kheng Huat and the prosecution was ready to take her plea on one charge, with her two other charges to be taken into consideration for sentencing.
Mr Sng said that he had seen IMH’s report and needed two weeks to take Tan’s instructions on the prosecution’s offer.
He also asked, in light of IMH’s report, if the prosecution could state its position on calling for a mandatory treatment order, a community sentencing option offered to offenders suffering from mental conditions that contributed to an offence.
Tan will return to court on July 30. /TISG