SINGAPORE: Singapore authorities on Wednesday (Jul 31) advised members of the public not to circulate a rap video by YouTube performer Preeti Nair, also known as Preetipls, which is under police investigation.
The three-minute video, titled K Muthusamy, was first posted on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube on Monday, and featured Preeti and her brother Subhas rapping a stream of vulgarities in response to a controversial advertisement by NETS promoting E-Pay.
The ad featured Chinese actor Dennis Chew portraying characters of different races, sparking accusations of “brownface” – the act of darkening one’s fair skin to mimic that of another race.
READ: Videos that “attack another race” cross the line, says Shanmugam on rap video by Preetipls
READ: “Two wrongs don’t make a right” – Ministers, religious leaders on rap video and ‘brownface’ ad
Mediacorp, which had been engaged to produce the NETS ad, has apologised, saying it had been done in an “insensitive fashion”.
The clip by the brother-and-sister duo drew widespread condemnation from Government ministers and religious leaders in Singapore, including Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, who said the rap video was meant “to make minorities angry with Chinese Singaporeans”.
Police said on Tuesday that the video was being investigated for “offensive content that causes ill-will between races”, and authorities asked that the video be taken down from the online platforms.
A copy of the K Muthusamy video by Preetipls and Subhas Nair that has been geo-blocked from access in Singapore. (Image: YouTube)
On Wednesday afternoon, however, the video had been reuploaded by at least three online users. In some instances the video was geo-blocked to prevent Singapore viewers from accessing the clip or required users to sign in.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, the Singapore Police Force said: “The police and IMDA (Info-communications Media Development Authority) note that there has been an attempt to circulate and share the Preetipls video which is the subject of police investigations.
“Police and IMDA would advise members of the public to refrain from doing so.”
Earlier on Wednesday, CNA announced that Subhas had been removed from an upcoming musical documentary titled ROAR because of his involvement in the video.
