A recent thread on HardwareZone forum gained a lot of negative reactions after a screenshot of a Facebook comment calling Singaporeans “Singapoo people” was published.
The comment, which was made by a man named Amit Verma, also called Singaporeans
racist” and “lazy”. The man added that the jobs in Singapore are being filled by foreigners because Singaporeans are lazy.
However, it is not clear to where the Facebook user left the original comment.
Based on his Facebook profile, it shows that the man is the Vice President of United Overseas Bank (UOB), and studied at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprasta University (GGSIPU), which is located in New Delhi, India.
If that’s not all, the thread also shared a screenshot of the man’s LinkedIn profile in which it stated that he is the Vice President of UOB. However, at the time of writing, the profile on LinkedIn is no longer available. Others share that he is currently residing in Singapore at a condominium.
Upon viewing his comment, many netizens commented on UOB’s Facebook community page, demanding for the bank to provide answers.
One such netizen named Felix Ng noted that as a client of UOB, he feels “disturbed” to read how the man has referred Singaporeans as “Singapoo”.
“Its an absolute insult, a mockery of us, and a total disgrace to UOB for hiring someone like him. Kindly investigate if this post by this person is true and clear the air. Kindly announce should this post be genuine, what actions would UOB take against this said person,” he wrote.
He added, “As a citizen of Singapore, I believe we have a right to know the outcome of your investigation”.
Besides netizens, politicians like Lim Tean of People’s Voice and People’s Power Party’s Goh Meng Seng also expressed their opinion on this matter.
UOB responds
Following this, UOB clarified in a Facebook post on Tuesday evening (22 September) that the man is not an employee of the bank, and it does not “tolerate such behaviour”.
“A Facebook user ‘Amit Verma’, claiming to be a UOB employee, has been posting inflammatory and provocative comments on social media. There is not such employee at UOB and we do not tolerate such behaviour,” UOB stated.
It added that it has reported the matter to Facebook and Singapore Police Force, and they are investigating the matter.
“We respectfully ask that you not be drawn into anti-social comments or repost content that divides us,” UOB noted.
Facebook user unsure with UOB’s clarification
Despite UOB clarifying that the said man in not an employee of the bank, a Facebook user named Suling Tan highlighted that if what UOB said is true, then why professional listings like LinkedIn listed the man as a Murex Management Analyst at the bank.
“It seems too consistent to be a fake account,” Tan noted.
As such, Tan asked if the man has ever been an employee of UOB.
“If so, when did he leave? If not, please state that UOB or any of your subsidiaries or related companies in and out of Singapore has Never Hired Amit Verma as full time, part-time or contract employee including any employee exchange program you have with your offices overseas,” Tan wrote.