SIM undergrad under fire for telling racist jokes

A police report has been lodged against a male student from Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) after a video uploaded on YouTube showed him telling crude racist jokes.

20 year-old Justin Wee, a first-year student at SIM, is under fire for spewing vulgarities and making racist remarks in the five-minute video, which was captured by an National University of Singapore (NUS) student and uploaded online.

His friends are shown in the video bursting out in laughter repeatedly at his jokes, even egging him on to tell them more.

Wee, a dancer for NUS' Rag Day celebrations, has since told The New Paper that he was drunk at the time of the incident. He explained that he and some friends had gathered at Kent Ridge Hall in NUS to celebrate the end of an orientation activity.

“I am deeply apologetic and regretful for my behaviour in this incident,” said Wee, in a written statement to TNP on Monday.

“I sincerely apologise to the Malay and Indian communities who are offended by the racist jokes that I had made,” he said.

When contacted, a police spokesperson confirm a report had been lodged.

The spokesperson said, “The right to free speech does not extend to making remarks that incite racial and religious friction and conflict. The Internet may be a convenient medium to express one's views but members of the public should bear in mind that they are no less accountable for their actions online. Any person who re-posts or contributes offensive comments to the postings that are the subject of ongoing investigations, and is also found to have committed an offence, will be dealt with in accordance with the law.”

When SIM was contacted, a spokesperson said, “We are appalled by what we see on the video.”

“As a tertiary institution, we have a code of conduct for our students who are expected to behave in a manner that reflects the values expected of a member of the SIM Global Education community and of Singapore society,” the spokesperson added.

In addition, the Institution states that they have since met up with the student, who has “expressed regret” and “volunteered to apologise to SIM Global Education, NUS and all who have been offended by his remarks”.

The SIM spokesperson said, “We will be convening a disciplinary hearing very soon to decide on appropriate disciplinary action for the student.”

An NUS spokesperson contacted by Yahoo! Singapore also confirmed that NUS will “look into the video as a matter of priority” and decide on the “appropriate disciplinary actions to be taken”.

The spokesperson said, “While the person speaking in the video is not an NUS student, we fully expect all members of the NUS community and activities on campus to be respectful of our country’s ethnic diversity, cultures and traditions.”

“The students involved in the video have been reprimanded for their disrespectful and offensive behaviour and for breaching the University’s regulations,” added the spokesperson.