Former lecturer apologises to Indian-Singaporean man for his racist remarks

A former school lecturer in Singapore has publicly apologised to an Indian-Singaporean man for making racist remarks over the latter’s relationship with a non-Indian girl.

On June 5, Dave Parkash, a half-Indian and half-Filipino Singaporean, was confronted by Tan Boon Lee, a former lecturer at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. When Lee noticed Parkash together with his girlfriend, who’s half-Chinese and half-Thai, he proclaimed himself a racist and advised Parkash that he was additionally racist for not marrying an Indian lady.Parkash later posted that video on his Facebook wall, which went viral, garnering over 530,000 views and over 10,000 feedback.”My girlfriend and I were confronted by a man who told us that we should only be dating people of our race. He called himself a racist and even blamed us for being racist just because my girlfriend and I are from different races. He humiliated us in public by shaming both her and I like as though we did something wrong. I come from a mixed-race background and so is my girlfriend. We both are mixed race but we are proud to be Singaporeans. I feel we shouldn’t be publicly shamed just because of our skin colour,” Parkash mentioned within the put up.Embed:Lee, 60, who’s now beneath police investigation over the incident, has made a public apology to Parkash and his girlfriend via his legal professionals. “On June 5, 2021, I had an encounter in public with Mr Dave Parkash and his partner, Ms Jacqueline Ho. During that encounter, I made several unwelcome comments about cross-cultural relationships. The comments were unacceptable. I am deeply sorry for what I said,” The Straits Times quoted him as saying.He further said the June 5 incident was “out of character”, adding that he had been struggling with a personal matter that had caused him grief and pain.“Nevertheless, my personal problems are no excuse for my actions. I have apologised to Mr Parkash, Ms Ho and their families. I now wish to apologise to those in the wider Singaporean community whom I have hurt and offended with my words,” he added.Lee, who used to show at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, was dismissed from service following the incident.Read: Indian-origin man arrested in Canada for smuggling $14 mn value cocaineAlso Read: Indian-American well being coverage professional Meena Seshamani appointed as Medicare director