'Upset and disrespected': Interracial couple encounters racist moment with Chinese man in lift

Elevator encounters are never predictable.

Sometimes you could have an amazing conversation while other times, they are just plain awkward. 

For TikTok user AmirahVgi, her lift encounter turned out to be a racist one instead, she said.

This woman shared a TikTok video on Sunday (March 5) describing how she and her Chinese husband took the lift with their neighbour, a Chinese uncle. 

In the video, Amirah mentioned that as soon as they entered the lift, the Chinese uncle "asked a very weird question".

According to Amirah, the uncle asked her husband in Chinese "if he will still follow her if Singapore chased the Malays back to Malaysia".

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@amirahvgi/video/7206651425257049345[/embed]

"I couldn't understand Mandarin, so I smiled. But in hindsight, I shouldn't have, right?" said Amirah in the video. 

She added that when the couple reached their floor, the uncle made another remark in Chinese to her husband saying "What kind of Singaporean are you?" and continued mumbling to himself.

What made the couple confused was that the Chinese uncle even held the lift for them, said Amirah in her post. 

Amirah then asked her husband Bryan what the Chinese uncle had said. 

"If I honestly understood Mandarin, I would have replied him with 'What is your F–ing problem man?'" she added in the video.

"This incident left me upset and disrespected," she added. 

Amirah ends her video by stating: "It's never okay to make assumptions about someone based on their race or ethnicity. It's important to remember that we all belong to the same human race."

"I share this experience not to create trouble. It's just that I want to spread awareness that these kind of incidents still happen in our society and I feel like we should treat everyone with the same respect and dignity, regardless of race, ethnicity or background."

Some netizens who found her story relatable took to the comments section to share their personal experiences.

One posted: "Boomers are crazy. Once I told a Malay uncle to lower his talking voice on a bus, he said smt [something] but I heard “Cina bodoh” (which translates to "stupid Chinese").

"I felt the same as you."

However, others felt that Amirah's husband Bryan should have spoken up for her, to which Amirah clarified in her reply to their comments.

In entirety, netizens were vocal about their support of Amirah and her husband being an interracial couple in Singapore.

AsiaOne has approached Amirah for comment. 

Man allegedly spits at interracial couple at mall

Just a few months ago, a regular date for one Singaporean couple — an Indian man and his Chinese partner — turned awry when they were approached by a stranger who allegedly spat at them. 

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

This took place at the link bridge between Orchard Central and Orchard Gateway,

Admitting that he is no stranger to racism, the Indian man 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 then, the police confirmed that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing. 

ALSO READ: Ex-Ngee Ann Poly lecturer jailed, trial reveals his daughter had left home with an Indian boyfriend

ashwini.balan@asiaone.com

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