Workers’ Party member and its candidate for Macpherson single member constituency at the last General Election, Mr Bernard Chen, has written in his Facebook that the Singaporean Indian Muslim man who supported terror in Turkey may be mentally unsound.
Referring to the recent terror attack in Turkey’s international airport, Facebook user M Na’im Sahib Marican said that the country deserves to be bombed because they were arrogant and said Singapore should not be like that country to avoid a similar fate.
Mr Chen said that the comments made by the user were wrong and that he condemned them in the strongest possible terms. The opposition party member said that he wrote the post with the family’s permission and that they were his good friends.
Mr Chen said that he knew that they had written to another publication who wrote about Na’im’s Facebook posts to request them to take down their article. The family told that publication that Na’im is “in a [serious] state of mental psychosis and is seeking psychological treatment at the IMH,” to justify their take-down request.
This publication also received an email flagging a picture which appeared in one of our articles on the topic. We acknowledged the email and moderated the post accordingly.
In his Facebook post Mr Chen said that “before we jump to our own [righteous] conclusions, shall we take a step back and understand the emotional roller coaster that the family members of M Na’im Sahib Marican is currently going through.”
He added, “it is not easy to deal with a mentally ill patient in your family and having to address matters regarding the law all at the same time.”
Mr Chen feels that what M Na’im Sahib Marican needed was medical treatment and that he is now receiving it.
Mr Prabu Ramachandran who made a police re
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UPDATE: Mr Prabu Ramachandran who lodged a police report against Na’aim as raised several questions about Mr Chen’s post. We publish Mr Ramachandran’s comments in full:
“I am glad that Mr Bernard Chen has condemned the comments made by M Na’im Sahib Marican however, this post by Mr Bernard Chen seems to raise more questions than answers.
How long has M Na’im Sahib Marican been seeking treatmement for his mental psychosis?
How long has he had mental psychosis?
Did his mental psychosis mysteriously appear before, when or after he had posted those vile remarks and comments of support for barbaric terrorism?
His facebook became disabled only after I wrote and email to the commission of Police, that sounds like a calculated move rather than that of someone of unsound mind, had he been truly of unsound mind, he shouldn’t have had Facebook access in the first place and the sheer timing of him disabling his facebook raises questions of him being of unsound mind.
Clarity of his mind or lack of it, seems to be very convenient for him.
Remember Edz Ellos the Pinoy Tan Tock Seng Nurse Facebook posts, when he got caught he claimed his Facebook was hacked.
We hope the Police and ISD keeps a close watch on him and his circles as someone who has been radicalized can post a threat to everyone around them, community, society as well as nation.
If he supported terrorism, what is to stop him from conducting and carrying out the very same acts of terrorism he supported.”
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This publication’s story on Na’im is here:Â https://theindependent.sg.sg/man-said-singapore-shouldnt-be-arrogant-to-avoid-bombings-like-turkey/
A netizen Prabu Ramachandran has made a police report against Na’im. Na’im’s Facebook has also been disabled.