Singapore police probe racist online backlash over Nepal disaster and Air India investment

Senior Minister K Shanmugam confirmed that police are looking into a wave of racist and xenophobic comments posted online about the Nepal-Tibet disaster and Singapore Airlines' equity interest in Air India. He said the Ministry of Digital Development and Information will request social media sites to remove content that violates their policies, noting that some posts had already been taken down. Lawmaker Alex Yam described the remarks as "downright heartless," and the minister highlighted that most Singaporeans have contributed more than S$3 million to Nepal relief.

The online abuse also targeted Temasek's senior management, with users invoking ethnic slurs against Indian-heritage executives. Shanmugam warned that allowing anonymity to shield such behaviour threatens social harmony and could set a precedent for future attacks based on ethnicity.