Woman loses job, YouTube channel after alleged racist incident on train

In the video uploaded by Twitter user Ryan Kalmani last week, the woman dressed in pink was heard claiming she was from Hwa Chong, and questioning commuters about their education. When one identified herself as Malay, she replied: "Malay is it? Okay,
In the video uploaded by Twitter user Ryan Kalmani last week, the woman dressed in pink was heard claiming she was from Hwa Chong, and questioning commuters about their education. When one identified herself as Malay, she replied: "Malay is it? Okay, no wonder." PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM RYAN KALMANI/TWITTER

A woman who grilled passengers about their race on a train last week has had both her YouTube channel and employment as a property agent terminated.

In a post on Facebook on Tuesday, Knight Frank Singapore said the woman's conduct was brought to its attention earlier this week and it has terminated her services.

"One of Knight Frank's core values is to be a responsible business to people and the community," it said. "The company maintains zero tolerance for hate speech and racism that threaten the foundations on which Singapore is built."

The woman, an associate with the company, has also been delisted from the Council for Estate Agencies' public register.

In a statement to The Straits Times yesterday, YouTube said the woman's channel was removed due to violations of its harassment and cyber bullying policies.

"We have strict policies that prohibit harassment on YouTube, including content that maliciously insults someone based on their race, gender expression, or sexual orientation," said its spokesman. "We quickly remove content that violates these policies when flagged."

YouTube removed over 100,000 videos in Singapore between October and December last year, based on its Transparency Report. The channel that was removed had 29 video uploads, 28 of which alleged racism. It was said to be run by the woman seen in a video dated April 21 on an East-West Line MRT train questioning passengers about their ethnicity while purportedly taking videos of them.

In the video uploaded by Twitter user Ryan Kalmani last week, the woman dressed in pink was heard claiming she was from Hwa Chong, and questioning commuters about their education. When one identified herself as Malay, she replied: "Malay is it? Okay, no wonder."

The woman claimed she was harassed by commuters, and had allegedly counted the Malays in the train before making her claims. She was said to have mistaken a Filipino for a Malay. ST understands her mental state is being assessed.

The YouTube channel and personal details of the woman were dredged up after the incident went viral on Twitter. The woman's face could be seen in some clips, which showed her accusing several members of the public of being racist and harassing her. However, most of the clips, which include titles like "Malays Harassing Chinese" and "Indian sexually harassing 56 year old Chinese lady", seem to show only people going about their day. In some clips, the people seem unaware that she was taking a video.

The oldest clip on the channel dated back to December 2016, but the rest were uploaded between April 2019 and earlier this month. The channel also featured playlists including K-pop videos.

A police spokesman said reports have been lodged in relation to the train incident and a woman, 57, is helping with investigations.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 29, 2021, with the headline Woman loses job, YouTube channel after alleged racist incident on train. Subscribe