Singapore—Rapper Subhas Nair is no stranger to controversy, but the trouble he’s in now could still get worse.
It all started with a video he made in two years ago with his sister, Preeti Nair, popularly known as Preetipls.
On Thursday (Oct 28), the Singapore Police Force announced that the 29-year-old rapper will be charged on Nov 1 with four counts of attempting to promote feelings of ill-will between different groups on grounds of religion and race.
Subhas allegedly breached the conditions in the warning given him and Preetipls in 2019 following their release of a controversial video.
According to the police, “One of the terms of the warning stipulates that if he re-offends, he may be prosecuted for the offence for which he was warned, in addition to prosecution for the alleged fresh offences.”
If Subhas is convicted of the fresh offences, he might have to pay a fine and serve as much as three years in jail.
2019 video with Preetipls
The Oct 28 charges stem from a July 2019 video he made together with Preetipls as a response to an ad that showed a Chinese actor, Dennis Chew, in brownface to portray people of different races, including a Malay woman and an Indian man.
Subhas and Preetipls’ response video took aim at the ad, with some of their lyrics targeting Chinese Singaporeans.
In August of that year, police gave the two artists a 24-month conditional warning for their rap video.
“Ms Nair and Mr Nair admitted to the police that they had produced and published the video. The video was in clear contravention of the Penal Code. If this video were to be allowed, then similar expletive-laden, insulting, offensive videos, targeted at all communities will have to be allowed,” the police said then, adding, “Such paths inevitably lead to more racism, more racial tensions, and eventually violence.
Offences in 2020 & 2021
The police say that Subhas has committed other similar offenses since then. He posted comments over social media on Jul 25, 2020, responding to a video of Chinese Christians who ad made hateful comments against another community.
Subhas “allegedly commented that Malay Muslims who make the same hateful comments would be treated differently by the authorities compared to the Chinese Christians,” the police said.
A few months later, on Oct 15, he commented on the July 2019 murder of an Indian man at Orchard Towers, saying that one of the accused, who is Chinese, received lenient treatment by the authorities because of his race.
In doing so, Subhas allegedly attempted to promote feelings of ill-will between Chinese and Indians.
Finally, in March this year, the rapper showed a cartoon drawing of his Oct 15 social media post during a stage performance, whereby he again reportedly attempted to promote feelings of ill-will between Chinese and Indians.
“Allegations that the law or law enforcement agencies accord differential treatment based on religion or race are baseless and have the potential to damage religious and racial harmony in Singapore and erode public trust in our law enforcement agencies,” the police added in its statement.
Subhas thanks supporters
In a tweet on Friday (Oct 29), the rapper thanked “everyone reaching out,” and drew attention to the plight of Singaporean convict Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, who is facing execution on Nov 10.
“Don’t let them use this as a distraction.
Please keep organizing towards abolishing the death penalty & saving Nagaenthran’s life,” he wrote.
Don’t let them use this as a distraction.
Please keep organizing towards abolishing the death penalty & saving Nagaenthran’s life. Also, do consider making a donation to https://t.co/4sIbTtKEAd to support 13 bus drivers as they take SBS to court.
To everyone reaching out ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/W7dQJcCopI
— SUBHAS (@subhas_music) October 29, 2021
/TISG
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