Lee Poh Kian, 56, was convicted of two counts of harassment and an offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act on 14 June.
He had scolded a couple of foreign workers, Ratnasingam Jatheesan and Krishnan Karthikeyan, with xenophobic insults, saying things like “You enter my country is wrong… This government also illegal. We will get you out.”
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sean Teh said that Lee felt entitled to use those words against the foreign workers, citing the alleged “crime situation” and “overcrowding in Singapore caused by foreigners”.
Lee also failed to wear a mask over his nose and mouth when approaching the two men.
What happened?
The two foreign workers were working at a construction site taking measurements at Lorong 5 Toa Payoh on 12 July when it started raining.
They then took shelter in a corridor nearby, when Lee started scolding them. One of the workers, Ratnasingam, recorded Lee going on his tirade.
The workers had no interaction with Lee before the incident, which caused Krishnan to feel stressed and insulted.
Lee had apparently felt that it was his “constitutional right” to scold the workers because they were “in his residential area”.
DPP Teh added that the accused did not make any valid arguments about the constitution to support his case and that there is no such constitutional right.
Lee will begin his mitigation and face his sentencing on 21 June.