15 months' jail for man who sent pork to mosques hoping recipients would harass woman

SINGAPORE — Unhappy with a woman he knew, a man sent letters containing a slice of pork each, along with her information, to multiple mosques.

Bill Tan Keng Hwee, 62, who appeared in court via video-link on May 11, committed the offences as he wanted the recipients at these places of worship to harass the woman.

Tan was sentenced to a year and three months' jail after he admitted to three counts of engaging in conduct that wounded the religious feelings of three Muslim complainants.

He also pleaded guilty to a harassment charge involving the woman.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Selene Yap said: "The accused's actions threaten the very fabric of our multi-racial/religious society.

"Such actions must meet with the strongest of disapprobation by the court and a clear signal must be sent to deter others from engaging in such anti-social and divisive behaviour."

Details that could identify the woman, known as C1 in court documents, cannot be disclosed due to a gag order to protect her identity.

In sentencing Tan, District Judge Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz said that the case involved places of worship, stressing that such offences could start religious tension and threaten public peace in Singapore.

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Court documents stated that the Singaporean man became upset with C1 on Sept 11, 2025.

DPP Yap said: "He thus devised a plan to send letters containing a pork slice and C1's information to different mosques.

"He knew that the pork slices would be offensive to a Muslim person, and he intended that the recipients from the mosques call C1 after receiving the letter to harass her."

To make each letter, Tan bought some pork, paper, and envelopes, and used other items already in his home.

After assembling the letters, he sent them via normal post on Sept 15, 2025, to seven mosques.

These included Al-Istighfar Mosque in Pasir Ris, Al-Abrar Mosque in Telok Ayer Street, and Ahmad Mosque in Lorong Sarhad, near South Buona Vista Road.

Tan had picked these mosques at random, said the DPP.

On Sept 19, 2025, three people related to the mosques alerted the police after receiving the letters.

C1 received a call from a staff member of an undisclosed mosque, and she made a police report that day.

Tan was arrested six days later and he has been in remand since.

On May 11, DPP Yap urged the court to sentence him to up to a year and six months' jail.

"The accused's actions had every potential to sully the hard-fought peace in our multicultural and communal-living society and the sentence imposed must send a clear message deterring similar behaviour."

Addressing the case in September 2025, Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam said: "Whatever the motive, this is playing with fire. We are treating this matter very seriously."

He also stressed that targeting a place of worship is completely unacceptable, and Singapore has zero tolerance for such acts.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.