Man Ripped Pride Flag From Lau Pa Sat Food Stall & Said ‘Go to Hell’ to Staff

Singapore is a country which encourages harmony, if not at least tolerance, among different groups of people.

Unfortunately, not everyone subscribes to the same mentality, and a local F&B business was attacked for showing support for the LGBTQ community.

Here’s What Happened

On 18 Jan 2021, the owner of SMOL, a health food business in Singapore, took to Facebook to share an unpleasant experience.

According to her post, her staff at Lau Pa Sat suffered “homophobic abuse” from an irate “middle-aged” man.

The man had allegedly asked about the Pride Flag displayed on their counter.

When told that the flag was there to show support for the LGBT+ community, he showed his disapproval blatantly while walking away, before walking back to the counter to lambast the staff.

Claiming that it was improper to display such a flag at a public food court where not everyone agrees with the sentiment, he ripped the flag off the counter and threw it at a female staff.

While walking away, he shouted that they are the ones “destroying Singapore” and asked them to “go to hell”.

You can watch the CCTV footage of the entire incident below:

Discrimination Against LGBTQ Community In S’pore Still Exists

The owner of SMOL shared that the flag was used as a conversation starter with customers.

She also believes in using her business to help “amplify” the voices of those who are not heard.

Calling the incident a reminder that discrimination still exists, she says that she will continue to display the pride flag at both SMOL outlets despite what happens, and hope other local businesses will consider doing the same.

In the comments on the Facebook post, which has almost 1k shares, many expressed support for her sentiments.

Just As There Is Discrimination, There Is Support Too

Seeing the man’s actions might make you think of Singapore as an oppressive society, but just as there are some like the man, there are others who are like SMOL too.

Later on the same day, the owner of SMOL took to Facebook to express her appreciation to the many who’d shown up to show their support for the business.

The SMOL outlet at Lau Pa Sat even sold out early.

While expressing thankfulness, the owner also urges people not to dox or harass the man in the incident.

It has already been reported to the police, she added, and it’s now up to the authorities to investigate the incident.

Featured Image: Facebook (SMOL Singapore)