SINGAPORE, Feb 5: Indian-origin rapper Subhas Nair commenced his six-week incarceration on Wednesday after attempting to incite discord among racial and religious communities through online messages in the diverse society of Singapore.
The 32-year-old Singaporean, fully named Subhas Govin Prabhakar Nair, sought to appeal his conviction and sentence before Justice Hoo Sheau Peng over a span of two days from the previous year.
The High Court rejected his appeals, as reported by Channel News Asia.
Nair could have faced up to three years in prison, a fine, or both for attempting to stir animosity between racial or religious groups.
In a succinct oral ruling, Justice Hoo affirmed her agreement with the lower court’s ruling regarding both the conviction and sentence, stating that the imposed six-week jail sentence was “not disproportionate or excessive”.
Nair was convicted of four counts by a district court in 2023 following a trial, with the charges stemming from his racially charged comments made between July 2019 and March 2021.
These accusations relate to a YouTube video in which he and his sister, Preeti Nair, performed a song containing racist lyrics.
Although Nair received a two-year conditional warning from the police concerning the video, he reoffended by making racial remarks on social media.
He asserted that “calling out racism and Chinese privilege” resulted in the two-year warning and “media smear campaign”, while “actually conspiring to murder an Indian man” merited only half the sentence and a media inquiry about “you’re expecting a baby soon, right? Boy or girl?”
Latterly, Nair conducted a stage performance showcasing a hand-drawn replica of comments linked to Chan Jia Xing.
A District Judge ultimately handed Nair the six-week jail term suggested by the prosecution in September 2023, leading to the current appeal. (PTI)
