Rapper Subhas Nair found guilty of attempting to promote ill will between races and religions

During his trial, Nair took the stand and explained his intentions behind each online post.

He said he intended to end “brownface” in Singapore with his video. This refers to the practice of a lighter-skinned person applying make-up to imitate the appearance of a person from an ethnicity with darker skin.

Nair also said the term “f***ing it up” referred to a person making a mistake, and did not mean that Chinese people are “f***ed up”.

He added that art may offend some people – especially when it is trying to improve society – and may also make some people feel “uncomfortable”.

On his comments on the Chan Jia Xing case, Nair said he was not trying to create enmity between groups. Rather, he was trying to convey a message “about the state of journalism in our country”, about “media bias and how certain people and cases were reported”, he said.

JUDGE’S FINDINGS

District Judge Shaiffuddin Saruwan on Tuesday rejected Nair’s explanations as to his “actual intention and knowledge” behind his posts.

“I find that they are not consistent with the words used in the posts. In one or two instances, they are also not supported or corroborated by what he stated in his police statement. Some are even plainly in direct contradiction with the words he used in the posts,” said the judge.

He said Nair’s words in his posts should be given their “natural and ordinary meaning”.

He also found Nair’s testimony “not cogent”, and did not find that he was a credible witness.

The judge said it was clear that Nair’s words suggested that some communities are targeted unfairly while others get preferential treatment.

As for the YouTube video, the lyrics were “clearly offensive and insulting” and the video was targeted at the Chinese community in general, a fact that Nair himself admitted.

Nair also acknowledged that he knew the Chinese community would find it offensive.

The judge said the “irresistible inference to be drawn” was that Nair knowingly attempted to promote feelings of ill will among racial and religious groups.

He convicted the rapper of all four charges.

Nair was accompanied by a handful of supporters in court on Tuesday, including his sister.

His lawyer successfully applied for him to leave the country for Bali in August, to attend a friend’s wedding and for leisure.

The judge granted the application after imposing some bail conditions, and directing that Nair provide his full travel itinerary to the investigating officer as well as surrender his passport to the IO within 48 hours of his return.

Sentencing arguments will be heard at a later date.

The penalties for attempting to promote feelings of ill will between racial or religious groups are a jail term of up to three years, a fine or both.