“Paparazzi-like” member of public follows ang moh around for refusing to wear a mask

Singapore – A member of the public spotted a foreigner without a face mask and followed him around insisting he put one on. The post has gone viral on social media, garnering mixed responses from netizens.

On Sunday (June 14), Kenneth Choo shared a post on Facebook page Complaint Singapore of a foreigner who refused to wear a mask. After allegedly reminding the Caucasian-looking man that the wearing of a face mask was for public safety and currently the law, the man declined to listen. “He continued walking away and uttered something in a foreign language which I couldn’t understand,” said Mr Choo.

“No exceptions regardless, right!” he said in his caption. Based on the post, the incident took place at HillV2 mall at 1:40 pm.

With over 450 comments and 360 shares, netizens shared mixed responses on the post, as both parties were deemed to be in the wrong.

Netizens saw Mr Choo’s behaviour of following the man around the area and taking photos of him to be kaypoh. “Let the ambassadors do their work,” said Charm Lee. “Why you so kaypoh?” Another commented that Mr Choo didn’t have to be such a “reporter” following the man around. “One picture enough, lah,” said Suryati Samsuri.

In one of the photos, a vague reflection of Mr Choo was included, which netizens noted made him appear like paparazzi taking a photograph of a celebrity.

Meanwhile, many called for authorities to take action as there have been numerous cases of foreigners in the country flouting the safety measures imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19. “Where’s the ambassador? Where’s the police?” asked Helen Leong, who said the man had no excuse even if he didn’t understand English.

Others noted he was already holding a face mask, so why did he continue keeping it in his hands and not on his face. Furthermore, if he just arrived in Singapore, he wouldn’t be walking around. He would be serving a Stay Home Notice in a hotel,” explained Cassiel Jayadas in response to those who took the side of the foreigner. Regarding the language barrier, the netizen added European countries make it a point to teach English. “For foreigners, if you don’t know how to respect the country’s law, please leave the country,” Junwei Lin suggested.