SINGAPORE, March 8 — Singapore authorities have invoked the Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA) to block social media access to a “blasphemous” video showing a man stepping on the Quran on a public bus.
The move follows a series of “Disabling Directions” issued to Meta after the offensive content began circulating across digital platforms, sparking a swift crackdown to preserve religious harmony, The Straits Times reported.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) confirmed today that five Disabling Directions (Dds) were issued to Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to prevent the content from being accessed by users within the republic.
While the original video has been removed, MHA noted that the footage continued to spread as it was reposted and shared by other users across various social media platforms.
According to a joint assessment by the MHA and the police, the video’s content constitutes a clear offence under Section 17F(4) of the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act 1990, which criminalises the act of insulting the religion of another person.
“We have issued five Dds to Meta to disable access to the content, and the posts containing the video are no longer accessible to end-users in Singapore,” the MHA said in a statement.
The incident, which reportedly took place on a public bus, has been condemned by authorities as a direct threat to the city-state’s social fabric.
The ministry also addressed those who shared the video for the purpose of denouncing the act, warning that even well-intentioned reposting helps the offensive content go viral, thereby undermining religious sensitivities.
“While some individuals may have reposted the video to condemn the actions of the original poster, doing so perpetuates the offensive content online,” the statement read.
Members of the public who encounter such content are advised to report it directly to the authorities rather than sharing it on their own feeds.
