S’pore youth criticised for filming himself “eating offerings”, later clarifies it was just pandan cake
A 22-year-old Singaporean man has come under fire after uploading a short video that appeared to show him eating food meant as offerings during the Hungry Ghost Festival. He has since clarified that it was all a misunderstanding.
The 15-second clip, which was uploaded on 24 August and has since garnered more than 270,000 views, began with text on screen that read: “If you are poor and hungry, and it’s the start of the Hungry Ghost Festival, you can just pick food from the roadside.”
The video then showed the youth standing beside offerings placed by the roadside. At one point, he stretched out his hand towards an orange-coloured steamed cake before turning to the camera and chewing something green. Viewers were led to believe he had taken and eaten food placed for the spirits.
Public backlash after video went viral
The clip quickly circulated online, sparking criticism from netizens. Some accused him of being disrespectful to religious practices, while others joked that he might end up angering wandering spirits. A few even suggested he should be sent to a welfare home for behaving “outrageously”.
Speaking to the press, the youth — identified as Chun Rong — explained that he never ate any offerings. Instead, he had bought a pandan cake from a nearby shop and decided to use it for his skit.
“The food in my mouth was green, but the offerings shown in the video were orange. I didn’t actually touch them,” he said, adding that it was simply a moment of hunger that gave him the idea for the video.
No disrespect intended, says youth
Chun Rong stressed that his intention was never to mock religious traditions. Coming from a Buddhist family himself, he said he understood the importance of respecting offerings and would never actually consume them.
He added that eating or disturbing offerings was a “shameful act” and that his clip was only meant as lighthearted humour. Still, he admitted that the backlash included private messages filled with insults, even though he tried to respond politely.
This is not the first time he has made such videos. Last year, he uploaded another clip showing a table full of offerings, only to turn the camera back on himself eating a packet of snacks he had purchased.
While some netizens remain unimpressed, others have called for a more forgiving view, pointing out that the youth had clarified his intentions and did not actually consume the offerings.
The incident highlights once again how cultural sensitivities and online humour can easily collide, especially during important religious periods such as the Hungry Ghost Festival in Singapore.