#trending: Photo of Mister Singapore with national flag that had scribbles raises eyebrows

SINGAPORE — Mr Sean Nicholas Sutiono, who was Mister Singapore in the recent male beauty pageant Mister International Competition, is in the spotlight again after a photo of him holding a Singapore flag with scribbles on it has raised some eyebrows among online users.

A thread on online forum Reddit titled “Err is this for real?”, which was posted on Tuesday (Nov 1), showed Mr Sutiono holding the Singapore flag with the words “Mister International” written on it, as well as what looked like signatures scribbled on the white portion of the flag. 

One Reddit user pointed out that it was “a defaced Singapore flag” so it would be “an offence”, while quoting from the Singapore Statutes.

However, some other online users came to the defence of Mr Sutiono because they felt that there was no malicious intent behind the act and it does not warrant the criticism. 

One Redditor wrote: “There's the word of the law, and the spirit of the law.

“Spirit of the law is to prevent malicious defacing of the national flag. This example here is hardly malicious (the signatures look to be well-wishes for Mister Singapore… to take with him to the Mister International male pageant competition).”

Under the National Symbols Act, maximum penalties for misusing the national symbols is half a year in prison or a S$30,000 fine, or both. National symbols include the national flag, national anthem and national pledge, to name a few. 

The National Symbols Act, which was passed by Parliament in September, replaces the Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem (Safna) Act, which was set in 1959. 

As a broad guideline, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth states on its website that "the flag, as a national symbol, should be treated with respect, and used in an appropriate and dignified manner".

Mr Sutiono recently stirred controversy for his choice of national costume at the 14th Mister International Competition that took place on Oct 30.

The Singapore representative was decked in what looked like a pair of Singapore Armed Forces PT (physical training) shorts and a pair of black boots, while holding the Singapore flag in a posed photograph. The portraits of other delegates in their national costumes were also posted on the official Mister International Instagram account on Oct 25. 

Many online users slammed Mister Singapore for the lack of effort and “zero budget” costume, with one calling it the “laziest (national costume) ever in pageantry history” in the comments section of the Instagram post. 

In response, the owners of the official Mister Singapore IG account commented on Mr Sutiono's picture, stating that “Sean’s national costume is in the works”, 8Days entertainment site reported.