Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on the Number of Race-related Incidents Investigated by Police Annually Over the Past 10 Years, by Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law

Question:

Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) over the last ten years, how many race-related incidents have been investigated by the police annually; and (b) how many cases resulted in (i) stern warnings (ii) charges being made and (iii) convictions annually.

Answer:

1.   Sections 298 and 298A of the Penal Code cover acts that deliberately wound the racial and religious feelings of any person, that promote enmity between different racial and religious groups, or that are prejudicial to the maintenance of racial and religious harmony. The number of cases that Police investigated from 2011 to 2020 under sections 298 and 298A of the Penal Code, and of these, the breakdown of whether the cases resulted in warning, charging or conviction, are appended at Table 1 . The figures for cases “warned” or “charged” does not include cases where investigations are still ongoing at the time where this reply is issued, or where no further action was taken.

2. Table 1 : Number of Cases Investigated, Warned, Charged, and Convicted Under Sections 298 and 298A of the Penal Code from 2011 to 2020