Indian given stern warning for posting torn Singapore flag image

An Indian man here has been given a stern warning by the police for posting on social media an image of Singapore's torn flag to reveal the Indian flag underneath, a media report said on Wednesday.

Avijit Das Patnaik, 44, who has been a Singapore permanent resident for nine years, lost his job at the country's DBS Bank over the incident. On August 14, he posted the picture on the Facebook page of the Singapore Indians and Expats group, showing the Singapore flag on a T-shirt being torn, revealing the Indian flag underneath.

He was investigated under the Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem Rules, Channel News Asia reported on Wednesday citing the police. The rules state that "no person shall treat the flag with disrespect".

"Following investigations, the police, in consultation with the Attorney-General's Chambers, has administered a stern warning," officials said.

The warning was given on October 3, about two months after a police report was made for Patnaik's Facebook post, the report said.

The image was taken down after some netizens commented that the post was offensive and insulting to Singapore.

The report said that Patnaik, who lives in Singapore with his wife and two children, was currently unemployed as the incident resulted in him losing the job at the DBS Bank following an internal probe and disciplinary action.

--IANS

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