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A 47-year-old man who harassed staff at an eatery and threw a rainbow flag at them has been given a two-year conditional warning by the police.
In a written reply to Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai from the Progress Singapore Party, Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said the police did not recommend prosecution after taking into account that no injuries were caused and the incident did not last for a long time.
The man also has a history of mental disorder, which may partly explain his actions, Mr Shanmugam added.
Instead, he was given a warning for an offence of intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress.
The 47-year-old man who took down a pride flag at a Lau Pa Sat stall counter, threw it at the staff, and shouted at them has been issued a 24-month conditional warning.
He was found to have committed an offence of intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress under Section 3(2) of the Protection from Harassment Act (POHA).
The resolution to the case was shared in a written reply by Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam to a Parliamentary question by Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Leong Mun Wai from the Progress Singapore Party.
Leong had asked for an update on the investigation into the incident. He also asked whether further steps would be taken to deal with such incidents of abuse due to discrimination.
Staff at health food stall SMOL Singapore in Lau Pa Sat were confronted on Jan. 18 by a man about a rainbow flag displayed at the cashier counter.
A video of the incident was uploaded online by the owner of the stall, Charmaine Low, who was apparently at the stall at the time.
According to the caption on the video, the exchange between Low and the man began with him asking what the flag was.
When Low explained that it was to show support for the LGBT+ community, the man apparently said: Do you know that this is a public food court? Not everybody support LGBT!!?? How can you put this flag??
Support pours in for SMOL eatery at Lau Pa Sat after man rips off LGBT Pride flag Toggle share menu
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Support pours in for SMOL eatery at Lau Pa Sat after man rips off LGBT Pride flag
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Support pours in for SMOL eatery at Lau Pa Sat after man rips off LGBT Pride flag
Screen grab of the video posted on SMOL Singapore s Facebook page showing the man and the Pride flag he later snatched off the counter and threw at a staff member. (Image: Facebook/SMOL Singapore)
19 Jan 2021 08:40PM (Updated:
19 Jan 2021 11:41PM) Share this content
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