A woman filmed going on a racist rant in Richmond last week will not face charges, RCMP confirmed Monday.
The incident took place on Friday, Aug. 23 in a parking lot outside the Richlea Square Shopping Centre.
WATCH: Richmond racist ranter won’t face criminal charges
Fang Xu, the husband of the woman who filmed the video, told Global News it happened when his wife Amy approached a white woman whose car had nudged theirs in the lot.
He said when his wife began speaking to her about it, the woman became angry — at which point Amy began filming.
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In the video, the white woman can be heard saying “go back to China where you belong,” “we don’t want you here because you can’t drive,” and calling her a “ch—y ch—y China lady.”
However, Richmond RCMP said while “the contents of the video and interaction is disturbing and troubling,” no charges would be laid.
Police said the determination was made in consultation with the BC Prosecution Service, noting that the incident does not meet the threshold for a criminal charge.
“We can appreciate that the community here in Richmond and the extended community online feels strongly about comments made in the video, but we would certainly not wish for anyone to cross the line from spirited conversation to criminal cyberbullying,” said Insp. Sunny Parmar in a media release.
WATCH: Disturbing racist encounter in Richmond caught on camera
“We must respect this individual is still entitled to due process and has a reasonable expectation of personal privacy.”
There is no actual listing in the Criminal Code of Canada for a “hate crime,” though the law does offer sentencing guidelines for people who commit other crimes in which hatred is a motivating factor.
The code also does criminalize a group of specific, particularly hateful acts: advocating genocide against a group, public incitement of hatred likely to cause a breach of peace and willful promotion of hatred outside of a private conversation.
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