Yishun-Innova JC student ‘helping police’ probe video of person in Arab garb, others kneeling with black hoods over head

SINGAPORE — A male student from Yishun-Innova Junior College (YIJC) is involved in a police investigation after a video taken at the tertiary institution depicted what appears to be racially insensitive behaviour and negative stereotypes being acted out in classrooms.

In response to TODAY’s queries on Friday (July 22), the Ministry of Education (MOE) said that it is aware of a video depicting a “misbehaving student” from YIJC.

“The student is currently cooperating with police investigations.”

The video has been shared on Reddit, TikTok as well as the Instagram account of Wake Up, Singapore. In it, a person is seen wearing what is typically a traditional Arab attire for men, complete with a headgear known as a kufiya.

Students can be seen filming what is going on or preparing to film the scenes as they are acted out in classrooms.

In one classroom, the person in Arab-style clothes slides his right hand across the chest of another person who was kneeling and wearing a black hood covering the head — the scene looking like an execution.

The person in the Arab-style attire then jumps up and down as he exits the classroom.

Later, what appears to be the same person enters two classrooms, each time with someone also wearing a black hood over the head and then kneeling. The person then hurriedly leaves behind a black backpack as he “flees” the classroom.

In two more classrooms, he enters alone and leaves behind the black bag before rushing out of there.

In one 28-second video clip that was circulated is a superimposed message that reads: “This is too much… JC students did this on Racial Harmony Day.”

MOE did not respond to TODAY’s queries of when the footage was taken.

It said: “YIJC has spoken to the student to help him understand that his actions were inappropriate, and that care and sensitivity must be exercised in Singapore’s multiracial and multireligious context.”

In response to TODAY's queries, the police added on Friday night: "The police confirm that a report was lodged. A male teenager is currently assisting police with investigations." 

A day before, the police had to handle a case of a false bomb threat at Evergreen Secondary School.

They were alerted to the incident at the school in Woodlands at about 7.40am on Thursday.

A male teenager is assisting in investigations for the Evergreen Secondary School incident and the police are looking into the case under the United Nations (Anti Terrorism Measures) Regulations 2001.