S’PORE FLAG ALLEGEDLY “DEFACED” IN GROUP PHOTO, HAD 40 SIGNATURES ON IT

A photo emerged online showing a group photo being taken, with the group holding up an allegedly defaced Singapore flag.

The netizen who posted the photo, @meeep0k, captioned it: “Err, is this for real?”

The flag was seen with about 40 signatures on the bottom, white half of the Singapore flag, with the words “Mister International” emblazoned across the middle.

Use and display of the S’pore flag

Under the Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem Rules, Part 3, Paragrah 9, Point 6 – no person shall produce or display any flag which bears any graphics or word superimposed on the design of the Flag, with effect from 5 March 2008

Any person who knowingly — (a) does any act in relation to the Flag in contravention of any of the provisions of rule 5, 6, 7, 9(1), (2), (3) or (4) or 10(1); or (b) contravenes rule 8 or 9(6) in relation to the Flag, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000.

Netizens’ comments

• bye- my cca was girl guides and we’re in charge of raising the flags. istg teachers will SPRINT when the bottom graces the floor and tell me to adjust it. and our school faces a hdb and have some blur people in my cca who go and hang the flag upside down. THE HDP PEOPLE WILL TAKE PHOTO AND SEND MY SCHOOL YK and we’ll get so much scolding.
  then got these people sign the flag and post on social media 😭😭 like bro what. who ask for your autograph AHAHAHAHAA. i’m just traumatised from being a girl guide
• There’s the word of the law, and the spirit of the law.
  Word of the law says writing or drawing anything on the SG flag is illegal.
  Spirit of the law is to prevent malicious defacing of the national flag. This example here is hardly malicious (the signatures look to be well-wishes for Mister Singapore (the guy whose face is visible) to take with him to the Mister International male pageant competition).
  Live and let live people. It does not reflect well on all of you individuals nor on SG society if the first thing we like to do to high-profile Singaporeans or Singaporeans winning local/international competitions is to dig up every single dirt we can about them to name and shame them. Crab mentality much? For those people stirring up outrage about well-wishes being scribbled on the SG national flag, I wonder how many of them still bother to hang up brand new, unfaded, unfrayed SG national flags outside their homes every August 9.
  At most give him a warning not to do this again next time. And even that is giving too much attention to a nothingburger issue.