Man charged over sending meat parcel to mosque, Singapore Archbishop expresses solidarity with Muslim community
A Singaporean man has been charged in a district court for his alleged involvement in sending a parcel containing pork to a local mosque.
Local media reported that Bill Tan Keng Hwee, 61, was charged on September 27 with deliberately intending to harm the racial feelings of a person.
Court documents showed that Tan had allegedly mailed an envelope addressed to Al-Istiqamah Mosque in the Serangoon North area, which contained a piece of pork and an offensive note.
The incident on September 24 led to the evacuation of the mosque.
Tan is also said to be involved in several similar cases at other mosques in Singapore. If convicted, Tan faces up to three years’ jail or a fine, or both.
According to The Straits Times daily, a local junior college has confirmed that Tan is an operations support staff member with the college.
Religious leaders and organisations have condemned the incident, as well as expressed solidarity with the Muslim community.
These include the Inter-Religious Organisation of Singapore, which represents 10 faiths in the city-state, the Singapore Buddhist Federation, the Taoist Federation (Singapore), and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore.
Archbishop of Singapore, Cardinal William Goh, in a letter to the country’s top Islamic leader, Mufti Nazirudin Mohd Nasir, said that the Archdiocese “strongly condemns these acts which seek to create division and foster ill-will” between communities in Singapore. “We also empathise deeply with those from the affected mosques and all Muslims in Singapore”.
“The Catholic Church believes in upholding the dignity of every human person as well as the respect due to all places of worship,” said Cardinal Goh in the letter titled “In Solidarity with our Muslim Community” and published on the archdiocesan website on September 26.
“On behalf of the Catholic Church in Singapore, I would like to assure you of our continued support and friendship, and to reaffirm our shared commitment to strengthening the trust and harmony between our communities,” said Cardinal Goh.
(Christopher Khoo is a Singapore-based freelance journalist and educator.)
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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