We're already dealing with a pandemic, let's not have to worry about rats in our midst, too. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

It’s been nearly two weeks since Singapore’s “circuit breaker” period began and the snitches are out in force.

Well not literally out of the house, but all over the internet sharing pictures and videos of supposed “Covidiots” not abiding by the ever increasing number of safe distancing regulations. It’s truly the Year of the Rat, it seems.

Whoever said the COVID-19 pandemic would bring people together must have forgotten to take into account the army of netizens hungry to turn on their compatriots and foreigners over the smallest of infringements.

And I do mean small. On one particular Facebook group – SG Covidiots – no alleged rule-breaking is too minor to be posted about.

From pictures of people sitting alone or practising tai chi in small groups, to videos of customers queueing for food or exercising, posters in this group are quick to call out wrongdoers.

But they don’t just stop there.

As with any mob worth its salt, posts are often accompanied by petty, derisive comments accusing the offenders of being “Covidiots” or endangering others’ lives and calling for the authorities to take action – or worse, have them beaten with sticks like what the police in India supposedly have done to those who defy the country’s lockdown.

An excuse to bully

Two videos that I’ve seen circulating over social media are particularly troubling. In one, an angry netizen follows an Indian couple across the street while persistently haranguing the male partner to put on his face mask.

Judging from the verbal exchange in the video, it seems like the couple – who are dressed in exercise attire – had been out at a park and that the man had taken off his mask at some point. This incensed the netizen to repeatedly yell at the man who then turned around to demand a stop to the “torturing”.

Could it be that the man being filmed was out of breath after some exercise? We can imagine how uncomfortable it would be to do anything strenuous and wear a mask thereafter. Was the man going around coughing on people or walking in a large crowd? Not from what I saw in the video.

Even worse were the commenters who responded to this video, many of whom called the man “foreign talent” or “CECA” – which is virtually a racial slur today – and some even asked for him to be sent back to his home country. Is it surprising that this kind of xenophobia surfaces among people who treat all “Covidiots” with immediate scorn and hostility?

Another video that left me incensed was one of a netizen approaching a man – also Indian – who was walking alone without a mask and condescendingly scolding him into putting on his mask. In the most patronising of voices, the netizen can be heard asking the man “Are you educated?” and threatening to fine the man $300.

If these netizens were so offended by such actions, why not just approach the persons who had triggered their ire with civility? Surely the level of aggression was not needed for people who were not directly threatening anyone else.

If you witness allegedly unlawful behaviour, why not just report the incident to the authorities and leave it at that? What does one gain from shaming others over petty offences?

Instead of justice being done, all I see is online bullying; people ganging up to mock others with no empathy for their victims who, by and large, are just minding their own business.

Sometimes home isn’t a safe place

It is worth mentioning that not everyone in Singapore has a safe, comfortable home in which to ride out the pandemic.

Just think about large families living in small, or even shared, flats; the elderly living alone who rely on the company of their neighbours and friends; residents living in unstable homes, where close proximity could lead to violence – the list goes on.

While these challenging circumstances do not justify the actions of rule breakers, they could be the reasons why some people do not want to stay home despite the risks of running afoul of the law.

Take for instance this elderly man I spotted sneaking a meal while seated behind some push carts outside an NTUC FairPrice outlet. I don’t see any joy he could possibly have derived from having to eat such a manner; he seemed almost ashamed.

Going by the used food packets hung around him, I would guess he did not have much of a choice about his situation, or had enough push factors to drive him to eat outside his home – if he even has one.

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