Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Ngee Ann Polytechnic 义安理工学院 Politeknik Ngee Ann
Address
535 Clementi Road,
Singapore 599489
Singapore
Information
Type	Public, Government, Polytechnic
Established	1963
Website	www.np.edu.sg

Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) is a post-secondary education institution and statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Education in Singapore.

Controversy

Urinating scandal

On March 2021, a video clip surfaced online showing a group of male students peeing on another naked boys kneeling and squatting against the wall of a shower cubicle at the polytechnic's toilet. The police was alerted to the incident on 22 March 2021 at about 9.50 PM and performed investigation. Ngee Ann Polytechnic revealed to Singapore media, TODAY, that the incident did not take place during its freshman orientation programme or as part of preparations for the programme and it has identified the students in the video.

An individual wrote on Instagram claiming that he is one of the students who got urinated on, and claimed that the act was consensual and denies any rumours of bullying.

On 17 May 2021, Ngee Ann Polytechnic revealed that disciplinary actions, ranging from corrective work orders to suspension, will be taken against 28 students involved in the incident. According to NP, the incident happened after the 28 students had participated in a trial programme on 20 March 2021 for student facilitators to prepare for an NP Students' Union (NPSU) freshmen bonding programme. They gathered in a campus toilet and conducted the act.

Other issues

The incident also resulted in other former students to reveal other incidents happened in Ngee Ann Polytechnic, involving the NP Students' Union (NPSU).

The incidents revealed including:

• NPSU serves drinks to student camper with with spit mixed and stirrred using hands and feet.

• A senior asked female students to "volunteer" to have eggs thrown at them. Some of the seniors alledgely scolded the students for refusing to volunteer. It was also alleged that the eggs will be thrown from 3 stories above and expected the students to catch the eggs with their mouths.

• Food waste and dirty water was poured over 1st year students, and the students were forced to stay awake or else their body will be doodled on with markers.

• Forcing students to crawl on wet toilet floors and retrieve “marbles” from sinks.

• Strip naked of other students in beach run and sexual harrassment on male and female student.

• At Sentosa Singapore, 1st year students were forced to lick used, wet socks; girls in white were forced to get into the water; and 1st year students were forced to drink alcohol until passing out and were thrown together on a bed.

• In NPSU 2017 freshman camp, students were forced to shower naked next to one another while the camp's Group Leaders watched from behind, saying it’s a “bonding session”.

• Some male students had their underwear ripped out and torn apart during their birthdays.

• Squeezing and twisting male student's nipples until one of the student's nipples to start bleeding.

Lecturer involvement in racism case

On 5 June 2021, Tan Boon Lee, a Ngee Ann Polytechnic lecturer under engineering department, made racist remarks against an interracial couple, Parkash and Ho. Tan crossed paths with them and said it was "such a disgrace, Indian man with a Chinese girl". He added that the Chinese "don't like it" when "you're preying on Chinese girl", and said: "If you are proud of your own race, you marry somebody Indian." He also said: “You do not see a Chinese guy going to an Indian girl. There is a reason. There is something wrong with the race, there is something wrong with the colour. If she is an Indian, you may not like her. She is Chinese.”

Ho filmed the incident and the video went viral on social media after Parkash shared it.

Tan was investigated by the police and found 64 obscene videos from his phone depicting women having sexual intercourse and other acts. He claimed that the videos were filmed with the parties' consent, downloaded from online sources or sent by his friends.

Tan pleaded guilty to two charges of wounding a person's racial feelings and possessing obscene films, he was sentenced to 5 weeks of imprisonment and a fine of SGD $6000 on 29 December 2022.

Other incidents

Tan was suspended from work by the polytechnic after the video of him confronting the couple surfaced online.

After the incident, a number of former Ngee Ann Polytechnic student wrote online revealed that Tan had made Islamophobic comments and controversial comments on Malays in class.