SINGAPORE: A man who made racist remarks and then posted video clips on TikTok of himself arguing with the police officers who were called on him was sentenced to 10 days’ jail and a fine of S$4,000 (US$2,900) on Thursday (Feb 13).
The videos, which were uploaded on Jan 2, 2023, went viral with one of the video clips garnering more than 6 million views.
Jonathan Ong Jun Jie, now 31, fought against the three charges and was convicted of shouting racist remarks at a man, using abusive words against a police officer and publishing six videos on TikTok of his interactions with the officer, intending to harass him.
Two other charges related to Ong missing two appointments with the police were taken into consideration for his sentence.
Ong, a former Cheers employee, was manning the cashier on Jan 1, 2023 when the victim, Mr Namasivayam Jayapal, entered the outlet at Lau Pa Sat along Raffles Quay at about 8pm to buy beer, according to Deputy Public Prosecutor Lee Da Zhuan.
Mr Namasivayam brought cans of beer to the cashier, and made small talk, asking if Ong was a foreigner, TODAY reported.
Ong insulted Mr Namasivayam by saying he was from Bangladesh, and that Bangladesh was under his feet, the charge sheets read.
In response, Mr Namasivayam cursed at Ong and called the police, Mr Lee said. The former was given a warning letter for his behaviour.
Staff Sergeant Mohammad Firdaus Hassan and two other officers responded to the call at the Cheers outlet, TODAY reported.
As Ssgt Firdaus entered the convenience store, Ong started a video recording of the trio on his mobile phone, Mr Lee said at the time.
Before interviewing Ong, Ssgt Firdaus asked for his particulars but the latter refused to share them, he added.
Ssgt Firdaus then warned Ong that there may be consequences for refusing to disclose his particulars and for recording a video of the police during ongoing investigations, the prosecution said.
Ong ignored these warnings and later uploaded his video in six different TikTok posts – two of which included the captions “SPF thug-like behaviour” and “Cop lying through his teeth”.
Mr Lee argued that these words were “clearly rude and offensive” towards Ssgt Firdaus and that Ong intended to cause harassment towards him by posting the videos, TODAY had reported.
During the cross-examination, Ong, who represented himself, asked Mr Namasivayam if he was drunk during the incident, to which he replied he was not.
Mr Lee asked for a fine of S$3,000 to S$3,500 and seven to 10 days’ jail for Ong. He also noted that the two charges for missing appointments with the police should be taken into consideration because they showed that Ong had “displayed disobedience to authorities when he was asked to comply with orders”.
In his mitigation on Thursday, Ong noted that before and after this incident, he had not committed or been charged with similar offences.
“I have no idea that it’s deemed abusive to post videos of police officers along with a bit of caption,” he added.
When District Judge Teoh Ai Lin asked Ong if he would be able to pay the fine, he replied: “I am more than able to pay but I’m not willing to pay.”
Ong will serve an additional eight days in prison instead of paying the fine.
For using insulting words with the intent to harass another, the punishment is up to six months’ jail, a fine of up to S$5,000, or both.
For Ong’s actions against the police officer, he could have faced up to 12 months’ jail, a fine of up to S$5,000, or both.
