The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) has issued a media statement condemning accusations of racial bias in sentencing as "categorically false and baseless".

The AGC said that it was aware of social media posts alleging preferential treatment of the accused persons involved in the Orchard Towers murder on July 2, 2019.

The deceased was 31-year-old Satheesh Noel s/o Gobidass.

Out of the seven who were initially charged with murder, six have had their charges reduced after thorough investigations found that they were not involved in causing the death of the deceased, said the AGC. Only one of the accused, Tan Sen Yang, is still being charged with murder.

"At no point did the Police and AGC take the race of the deceased and the seven individuals into consideration in its decision."

3 individuals already received imprisonment sentences

Of the seven, three have already received imprisonment sentences:

1. Joel Tan Yun Sheng (One month imprisonment)
2. Ang Da Yuan (Eight months imprisonment, six strokes of cane)
3. Natalie Siow Yu Zhen (Five months imprisonment, in addition to 107 days spent in remand)

The sentences, said the AGC, were in line with sentencing guidelines issued by the High Court in a previous case, as well guidance published by the Court in Sentencing Practice in the Subordinate Courts.

Chan Jia Xing: Let off with conditional warning

A fourth individual, Chan Jia Xing, was charged with consorting with a person carrying an offensive weapon in a public place.

However, the AGC considered the facts of the case as well as his involvement — he tried to stop the attack and he cooperated with police investigations — before directing the Police to issue him with a 12-month conditional warning.

"The charge against Chan may be revived against him should he re-offend within the 12-month period," said the AGC.

"Allegations of preferential treatment for different races are baseless and have the potential to disrupt racial harmony in Singapore, causing irreversible divisions in our communities. AGC has directed the Police to investigate the individuals responsible for a number of social media posts that are potentially in contempt of court. AGC will not hesitate to take action against those who fall foul of the law."

Unrest on social media

The news of Chan's conditional warning broke recently, triggering unrest on social media. These are just some that we found on Twitter and Instagram:

Many alleged or insinuated that it was due to preferential treatment due to his race, with some calling it "Chinese privilege".

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Top images adapted from Twitter, Instagram.