Police investigating after pride flag ripped off from woman's flat twice

A woman's large pride flag hung prominently outside her residential unit along Hougang Street 52 was forcibly removed twice on June 29.  

The police told AsiaOne a group of youths have been identified as being involved in this case, in a statement on July 3.

"Preliminary investigations revealed that a 15-year-old male teenager had allegedly removed the flag on both occasions out of mischief," the police told AsiaOne, and added that investigations into the case of intentional harassment are ongoing.    

The woman, identified on Instagram as Sheni Nedumaran posted several Instagram stories on June 29 highlighting this incident.

She had hung the rainbow-coloured flag prominently outside her ground floor home on June 1 to mark her support for Pride month, a month-long celebration of the LGBTQ community.

She was working from home when she heard a loud bang – and found the colourful and large flag lying on the ground.

The woman decided to put the pride flag back up but it wasn't long before the flag was yanked off her window again. 

The 33-year-old did not manage to see the culprits, as they ran off immediately after.

She made a police report the day after but had dealt with the police prior to this incident.  

On June 21, according to the woman, the police showed up at her doorstep after receiving a complaint about her flag. She was left bewildered at their presence and questioned if there was a need for them to do so.

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The police told AsiaOne that they acted as per usual procedure by responding to the reported unit to assess the nature of the flag, the purpose of its display and whether the flag displayed any national emblems – after receiving the public complaint.

They added that the officer advised her that she may consider removing the flag if she wished – with consideration that the flag was displayed in a prominent manner and prone to mischief as it was on the ground floor. 

In January 2021, a man was caught on video verbally abusing and throwing a pride flag at a staff of a salad bar in Lau Pa Sat.

In March 2021, Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said that the government categorically protects everyone, regardless of which community they belong to.

"LGBTQ persons, non-LGBTQ persons, we are all equal. We are not any lesser by reason of our sexual preferences,” Shanmugam added.

amierul@asiaone.com