A sober and calmer but still cocky Aliff Aziz spoke publicly for the first time since we last saw him pinned down by police in Orchard Road screaming for his father.
The 28-year-old celeb thanked those who have supported him despite his very public fall from grace after his arrest Sunday for disturbing the peace, an episode caught on tape showing cops struggling to put the cuffs on him while Aliff shouted into his phone, crying for his dad.
Dad was beside him in a video posted online this week that is part confessional and part pity-party, but completely devoid of any apology. Avoiding the camera with his eyes and half-smirking throughout, Aliff suggests there were more “angles” to the story.
“There’s a lot of things that happened during that time that I cannot remember. I don’t have to explain a lot because there are so many things that have come out [in the press], ‘Drunken brawl’ is one angle of the story,” he said in the video recorded by his mother, Siti Hafiza Basharahil, and posted online early Wednesday morning.
‘Help, dad!’ a hysterical Aliff Aziz shouts during Orchard Road arrest (Video)
Responding to netizens who criticized him for behaving like a child by calling his father during the arrest, Aliff defended his actions, saying the older Aziz will always be his father, even when Aliff turns 40 or 50.
“All I can say is that it has been a very tough year for me. Spiritually, mentally and physically,” Aliff said in the nearly four-minute clip.
He speaks to the camera while sitting next to his father at what looks like a hawker center in the clip. His two sisters, one of whom is local singer Aisyah Aziz, were also there with him.
Aliff gained fame a decade ago as a singing contest winner but has become more famous offscreen for his messy personal life, including news of him cheating on his wife in 2017 followed by their divorce in May.
Regarding the incident on Sunday, police told reporters that Aliff had gotten into a drunken brawl with a man on Orchard Road at about 6:40am, and that his breath reeked of alcohol. Aliff was repeatedly told to calm down and stop quarreling but refused to do so, police said.
“I also received a lot of DMs (direct messages) from those who were concerned. So I would like to say thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. At least, there are still people [out there] with a good heart. Just continue to pray for the best. This year, there’s a lot of lessons to be learned this year, so hopefully, I come out of this stronger,” Aliff said.
In the background, his mother can be heard wishing him well.
“Move on with your life, do the best, learn from your mistakes, and you know that your family, your siblings, your parents will always be behind you no matter what. We will never put you aside,” she says.
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‘Help, dad!’ a hysterical Aliff Aziz shouts during Orchard Road arrest (Video)
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