Man who made racially offensive posts under the name 'Sharon Liew’ to be charged: Police

SINGAPORE — A 34-year-old Singaporean man who posted racially offensive content on social media will be charged on Thursday (July 2).

In a news release on Wednesday, the police said that the Malay suspect will be charged for knowingly committing acts prejudicial to the maintenance of racial harmony under Section 298A of the penal code.

The offence carries a jail term of up to three years, or a fine, or both.

The police had first received a report on April 18 regarding offensive content against Indian migrant workers posted under the Twitter handle @sharonliew86.

Bedok Police Division officers established the man's identity five days later, with further investigations revealing his alleged involvement in two other cases of purportedly offensive tweets.

Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam wrote about the incident on Facebook in May after the police had found the man responsible for the posts.

Mr Shanmugam said that the “nasty posts” had been "done deliberately to stoke anger, unhappiness, racial tensions" and that "action will be taken".

"The police will not condone acts that threaten racial and religious harmony in Singapore. Any person who makes remarks that can cause ill will and hostility between the different races and religions will be dealt with swiftly and firmly," the police added.