“When I was told about it, I laughed it off” – Law Minister on egg-throwing comments

Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam has revealed that he “laughed off” the Facebook comments from two netizens about wanting to throw an egg at him, when he was informed about the comments.

On Monday (25 Mar), the Singapore Police Force (SPF) confirmed that it is investigating not one but two netizens for comments they made on social media about throwing an egg at Mr Shanmugam. Both netizens are men, aged 20 and 47.

The younger man had commented in a post on Channel NewsAsia’s Facebook page that he wanted to throw an egg at the Minister, while the 47-year-old netizen responded with information on the Minister’s Meet-the-People session.

Last week, NSman Edmung Zhong revealed on Facebook that he made the comment about wanting to throw an egg at the Minister as he shared that the police paid a visit to his home over the “harmless” remark.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday (27 Mar), the Minister said that he realised that the comments were somewhat exaggerated and laughed the matter off when he was told about them.

He added that despite his personal feelings over the matter, he understands the SPF’s concerns and why they wanted to interview Zhong. He said:

“There have been some media articles on Edmund Zhong and his threat to throw eggs. When I was told about it, I laughed it off – the somewhat exaggerated words of a young man.

“I was then told about some of his background, and that he would be interviewed to establish that he is not actually going to take any action. I understood Police’s concerns. I can laugh off these comments, but understandably, Police can’t.

“I am much more concerned about his public comments, on his FB, on his attitude to narcotics. I hope he does not actually experiment further with cannabis, regardless of how desirable he thinks drugs are.”

Responding to the Minister’s statement, one netizen commented that Mr Shanmugam’s initial reaction to laugh the matter off was appropriate and that the SPF should have taken the same approach.

He added that Edmund’s views on drugs should have been addressed separately if that was the point of concern as opposed to the seriousness of the Facebook comment.

Another netizen added that the Minister should perhaps refrained from writing about Edmund’s views on drugs, given his large following and since Edmund does not have a fair way to respond:

The majority of netizens responding to the Minister’s post, however, lauded his reaction and asserted that the SPF has taken the correct course of action:

https://theindependent.sg.sg/overkill-police-investigate-not-one-but-two-men-for-comments-about-throwing-an-egg-at-the-law-minister/

https://theindependent.sg.sg/just-a-joke-says-nsman-who-left-an-online-comment-saying-he-wanted-to-throw-an-egg-at-k-shanmugam/