'You shouldn't be with a Chinese girl!' Man allegedly spits at interracial couple at Orchard Road mall

A regular date for one Singaporean couple turned awry last Sunday (Dec 18) when they were approached by a complete stranger who allegedly spat at them. 

The couple — an Indian man and his Chinese partner — were at the link bridge between Orchard Central and Orchard Gateway, when a bespectacled man in a dark blue shirt and jeans approached and spat at them, reported Wake Up Singapore.

When the Indian man — who declined to be named — asked the stranger why he spat at him, the latter replied: "You should not be with a Chinese girl! Your girlfriend should be my girlfriend!" 

The Chinese man then allegedly spat at him a second time and flipped the bird at the couple before fleeing. 

Speaking to Wake Up Singapore about their bizarre encounter with the stranger, the Indian man said he was so angry that he "teared up". 

Admitting that he is no stranger to racism, he said it was the first time "a completely random stranger had the audacity to do something like this". 

This man said he made a police report on the same day. 

Responding to AsiaOne's queries, the police confirmed that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing. 

Ex-lecturer made racist remarks to couple 

Just last year, a former Ngee Ann Polytechnic Lecturer, Tan Boon Lee, made headlines after a video of his racist outburst against an interracial couple went viral online. 

Tan had told Dave Parkash and his girlfriend, Jacqueline Ho that it was "such a disgrace [that] an Indian man is with a Chinese girl" when they crossed paths along Orchard Road in June 2021. 

Ho recorded the confrontation and Parkash uploaded the video onto Facebook. 

Shortly after, some of Tan's former students also came out to say that Tan had previously made Islamophobic comments in class. 

Tan was subsequently dismissed from his job and charged for wounding an individual's racial feelings. 

On Nov 17, Tan pleaded guilty to two charges — one count of wounding an individual's racial feelings and another of possessing obscene films. 

He will return to court on Dec 29 for sentencing. 

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claudiatan@asiaone.com