A SINGAPORE court has charged a 38-year-old man who threatened to “open fire” on a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rally recently.
Bryan Lim Sian Yang appeared in court Thursday over allegations that he attempted to incite violence through a comment he made on June 4 on a Facebook page opposed to the rally, according to the Straits Times.
The regional performance consultant for Canon Singapore made the comments on a Facebook page titled ‘We are against Pinkdot in Singapore’, an anti-LGBT group that protests against the presence of the non-profit organization Pink Dot SG.
In the posting, Lim said: “I am a Singaporean citizen. I am a NSman, I am a father. And I swore to protect my nation. Give me the permission to open fire. I would like to see these £@€$^*s die for their causes.”
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His comments, which have been interpreted as violent hate speech against the LGBT community, raised concern among other netizens.
Lim later apologized for the “misunderstanding” and deleted his Facebook account.
“My words were strong. I did not mean anyone… This was taken out of context. I hope this clears the air,” he said. “I did not mean physical bullets nor physical death. I mean open fire on debate and remove them [the event’s corporate sponsors] from Singapore domestic matters.”
His remarks were made just one week before 49 people were tragically killed at a popular gay nightclub by gunman Omar Mateen in Orlando, Florida. Mateen was shot dead by police after a three-hour stand-off.
To complete the investigation, Deputy Public Prosecutor Wong Woon Kwong asked that the case be adjourned.
Lim is expected to reappear in court on August 4. The court set his bail at SG$10,000 (US$7,404).
If convicted, Lim faces five years imprisonment or a fine.
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