A 24-year-old Singaporean who thought a memorial to the great war’s dead would be a cool place to try out some wakeboard tricks was charged today with disrespecting a monument.
The unnamed man caught on video in July being winched through the Civilian War Memorial was charged under Section 22 of the Preservation of Monuments Act.
Making waves in a monument honoring the civilians killed in World War II would have been one thing, but in a moment of peak douchery, the man slams the bottom of his board into the monument’s structure, making a desultory thwacking sound.
“The Civilian War Memorial, a national monument, is dedicated to the civilian victims of the Japanese Occupation,” the police and National Heritage Board said in a joint statement. “Due respect must be accorded to our national monuments, in particular war memorials, and all acts of disrespect are unacceptable.”
Some who saw the video responded less thoughtfully, describing him as an “ass.”
A police report was filed back in July by the same unsettled passerby who filmed it.
The 61-meter monument was built in 1967 after mass graves of civilian victims were found around the country. Its four columns signify the unity of Singapore’s races.
If found guilty, the man could be fined up to $30,000 and jailed six months.
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