Singapore Court Jails Man for 15 Months over Pork Letters Sent to Mosques
The 62-year-old Singaporean man was sentenced to 15 months’ jail in a case that authorities said threatened religious harmony in the city-state.
Tan Keng Hwee pleaded guilty in a Singapore court to three charges of engaging in conduct that wounded the religious feelings of Muslim complainants, as well as one harassment charge involving a woman identified in court documents as C1.
The court heard that Tan became upset with the woman in September 2025 and devised a plan to provoke mosque staff into contacting and harassing her.
He bought pork, paper and envelopes before sending letters to seven mosques across Singapore. The woman’s personal details were included in the letters.
Prosecutors said Tan knew the inclusion of pork would offend Muslims and intended for mosque representatives to direct their anger towards the woman.
Three mosque recipients later alerted police after receiving the letters, while the woman lodged a separate police report after being contacted by one of the mosques.
Tan was arrested in September 2025 and had remained in remand before sentencing.
In delivering the sentence, the judge said offences targeting places of worship carried wider implications for public order and social cohesion in Singapore’s multi-religious society.
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The prosecution argued that deterrence was necessary in cases involving acts capable of inflaming communal tensions.
Singapore maintains strict laws against acts deemed capable of undermining racial or religious harmony, reflecting longstanding government policy that social stability is central to the country’s security and governance.
The city-state has previously prosecuted several cases involving conduct considered offensive to religious communities.
In 2005, two bloggers were jailed under the Sedition Act for posting anti-Malay and anti-Muslim remarks online, in one of Singapore’s earliest high-profile internet hate speech prosecutions.
In 2009, a Christian couple was convicted of distributing religious materials deemed insulting to Islam after leaving tracts critical of the religion in public mailboxes.
Authorities have also acted against foreign religious preachers accused of making divisive remarks. In 2017, Islamic preacher Ismail Menk and Christian preacher Dr Daniel Scot were barred from entering Singapore after authorities said they had made statements viewed as denigrating other faiths.
In more recent years, police investigations have been launched over social media posts and online comments alleged to insult religion or incite hostility between communities.
Singapore’s Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act grants authorities broad powers to intervene against actions seen as promoting enmity, intolerance or hostility between religious groups.
The government has repeatedly said that preserving religious coexistence remains a national priority in the multi-ethnic nation, where Chinese, Malay, Indian and other communities live in proximity and practice different faiths.
Source: asianews.it
