DBS Employee Had Posted A Ripped Singapore Flag Picture
Former DBS employee Mr Avijit Das Patnaik has been fired as a result of his controversial social media post.
The image he posted on Facebook depicted two hands tearing the Singapore flag to reveal the Flag of India.
DBS made this announcement via a Facebook post this morning (28 Aug), and confirmed that he has been fired as of 24 Aug.
Social media backlash
The image first surfaced on Facebook on 14 Aug, a day before India’s Independence Day, according to The Straits Times.
Mr Patnaik, who was part of the DBS Consumer Banking Operations Team, uploaded the image onto the Singapore Indians and Expats Facebook Page with around 11,0000 members.
It came with the caption “Phir Bhi Dil Hai”, which translates to “Still my heart is”, presumably to express patriotism for his motherland.
The picture was taken down, but caused a frenzy among Singaporean netizens, with many deeming the image disrespectful.
Mr Patnaik had no choice but to take his social media accounts and LinkedIn profile down as a result of the overwhelming response.
No intention to offend
In an interview with The Straits Times, Mr Patnaik apologised for his Facebook post and claimed that he didn’t mean to offend anyone.
Mr Patnaik insisted that he only shared the image because it had been circulating around other social media platforms. He assumed afterwards that it would be acceptable to upload the photo onto Facebook, paying homage to his motherland.
Mr Patnaik, who’s a Singapore Permanent Resident, confessed that he is extremely fond of Singapore and has always been singing praises about our country.
Ongoing police investigation
The police currently in the midst of investigating this incident.
Anyone found disrespecting the Singapore flag will be fined $1,000 under The Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem Act.
Featured image from Facebook.
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