A man pointed out that Straits Times publish the River Valley murder incident together with the AXE oil brand advertisements. Many netizens have called it a bit of insensitivity for Straits Times to publish the advertisement it on the same page as the murder.
On his Facebook he said:
“AXE AD THAT SHOULD BE AXED
AS poor coincidences and unfortunate timings go, the Axe brand universal oil ad ought not have appeared on the same front page of today’s The Straits Times (ST), as the top story about a Secondary 4 boy allegedly using an axe to kill a Secondary 1 kid at River Valley High School (RVHS) – see attached.
NOW ST will be the laughing stock and crying sample for Mass Comm students and newsrooms all over the world about how sub-editors and Duty Editor ought to be more alert in knowing the exact advertiser when designing layouts on the dummy pages, especially a tragic news on Page 1.YEARS ago, I stopped an airline advert on the same page that an air crash was reported.
The most unforgettable mistake was one about a suitcase murder in Malaysia where the ad was, you guessed it, about a luggage discount fair!THAT’S one axe ad that ought to be axed out of respect for the families and students of RVHS.FEEL FREE TO SHARE”
AXE Brand is aware of the altercation
Axe brand posted on Facebook calling the advertisement appearing on the same page as the murder as an “a unfortunate coincidence”
“It has come to our company’s attention that our Axe Brand advertisement has been placed below an article on the Straits Times today concerning the recent alleged killing at the River Valley High School.
The advertisement placement was not intentional by our company but a very unfortunate coincidence. The advertisement was arranged and booked in December 2020 with Straits Times.
Our company is in deep sympathy and grief with the victim’s family.”