'Still in the wrong': Man caught smoking faces online criticism for accusing NEA officers of racism, Singapore News

AsiaOne

a day ago

A man caught smoking at Changi Airport by two National Environment Agency (NEA) officers and accused them of racial bias has been met with backlash from netizens.
In a video he posted to TikTok on Aug 16, the man — who goes by thomasong220 — can be heard questioning if the officers are racist for penalising him despite letting an Indian couple and Indian man off for the same offence.
The two-minute clip shows a female officer on a call with her supervisor. She does not respond to the man, while the male officer standing beside her only tells the man not to interrupt her while she is on the phone.
The man then retorts that he is also on the phone, continuing to question if they are being racist. He also claims that they are refusing to follow him to the police station so he can lodge a report against them.
The original TikTok video has garnered over 538,000 views as of Tuesday (Aug 19). The clip was also posted on various other social media platforms.
Although a few netizens questioned why others who committed the same offence did not face consequences, they did not fully agree with the man.
Some netizens who commented on the video criticised the man's actions, pointing out that he had broken the law regardless.
One commenter wrote: "Whatever the case is, you are still in the wrong for smoking in the wrong place, no?"
"Just because someone gets away with a crime it doesn't [exempt] you from committing a crime. You got caught on the spot and [are] now trying to talk your way out of it. Shame," commented another netizen.
Another commenter wrote: "They [have] body cams. Just get their names [and] id numbers, lodge a report. They're enforcement officers — if they are biased, they'll be fired."
Responding to AsiaOne's queries, an NEA spokesperson confirmed the incident took place on Aug 13 at Changi Airport and was captured on the officers' body-worn cameras.
"Our enforcement officers witnessed a person smoking under a covered walkway near the pick-up point at Terminal 1, which is an offence under Section 3 (2) of the Smoking (Prohibition in Certain Places) Act," said the spokesperson.
"Our officers proceeded to engage him by identifying themselves and informing him of the offence he had committed," the spokesperson added, noting the individual's unwillingness to co-operate in the process.
The incident has been reported to the police and investigations are ongoing.
AsiaOne has reached out to thomasong220 for comment.
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