Tanjong Pagar wellness club says its pride flag was removed intentionally
One day before Pink Dot, a pride flag hung outside a wellness club in Tanjong Pagar has been forcibly removed, the management said.
This caused a mirror on its storefront to be shattered in the process.
Source: @pinkdotsg on Instagram
The business replaced the flag that same day.
Wellness club says pride flag was thrown to the ground on 28 June
The pride flag incident was related via a Instagram post by Trapeze Rec. Club on Friday (28 June).
The holistic wellness club, located along Tanjong Pagar Road, said it found its pride flag thrown to the ground that morning. Its mirror was also shattered.
Saying the “act of hate” left them “deeply saddened and disappointed”, the club added:
At Trapeze Rec. Club, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive space where everyone is welcome, no matter who you are. While this incident hurts, it strengthens our resolve to continue standing up for love, acceptance, and equality.
Pride flag was yanked off, according to CCTV footage
In a statement on Facebook on Friday night, Pink Dot said it has spoken with the company’s founder.
It learnt that someone had intentionally yanked off the flag, breaking the mirror in the process, according to CCTV footage.
Pink Dot expressed dismay that the club “found their premises vandalised”, saying:
Such blatant discrimination and vandalism should never be tolerated.
Pride flag is back up at wellness club
Trapeze Rec. Club is one of the sponsors of this year’s Pink Dot, which is taking place at Hong Lim Park on Saturday (29 June).
This isn’t the first time the club has displayed a pride flag on its premises. It did so in June last year, too, according to a video posted on its Instagram account.
Source: @trapezerecclub on Instagram
The incident hasn’t deterred it — an Instagram story posted on Friday afternoon showed that the pride flag is back up.
Other pride flags removed in Singapore
Other businesses have had their pride flags removed in the past.
Local eatery SMOL has had this happen to them twice — the first time was in 2021 when a man ripped a pride flag from its counter and threw it at staff.
The man was given a conditional warning from the police.
In 2023, a pride flag that hung outside its PLQ Mall outlet was forcibly removed.
Private residences have not been spared, either — a pride flag that was put up outside the window of a woman’s HDB flat was ripped off twice.
Police didn’t recommend prosecution of man in SMOL incident
When asked in Parliament about the SMOL incident in 2021, Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam replied that the police didn’t recommend the prosecution of the man who ripped the pride flag from the counter.
This was in consideration that:
- no injuries were caused
- the man had a medical history of mental disorder which may explain in part his actions in the case
- the incident was not protracted
Mr Shanmugam also confirmed the Government’s position that “harassment and abuse of any person for any reason is not condoned”, saying:
The law protects LGBTQ individuals the same as everyone else.
The Protection from Harassment Act (POHA) contains measures to protect victims and the Penal Code criminalises hurt or incitement of violence, he added.
Additionally, amendments to the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act (MRHA) in 2019 makes it an offence to urge violence on the grounds of religion or religious belief.
Also read: Pride Flag Gets Ripped From Woman’s Window Twice, Police Looking Into Incident
Pride Flag Gets Ripped From Woman’s Window Twice, Police Looking Into Incident
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Featured image adapted from @pinkdotsg on Instagram.
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