If there’s one thing worse than young’uns seeking funds from strangers to travel around the world, it’s tourists abusing the kindheartedness of locals to fund their debauched revelry.
But after duping folks in Bangkok, Manila, Bali, and KL — where he spent his “donations” on drinking, partying, and prostitutes — professional beggar Benjamin Holst found his reputation had preceded him when he landed in Singapore early Wednesday morning.
Immigration officers at Changi Airport took one look at his identity and made a quick, and undoubtedly wise, decision: “Nah”.
Holst, who had already been stiff-armed when trying to cross the border by bus just two days earlier was this time packed onto a plane and deported far, far away.
For those who aren’t aware of Holst’s notorious past, let us educate you about his legendary dickishness. The 32-year-old German national was first spotted begging along Bangkok’s Khaosan Road in 2014 — claiming to have lost all his money and passport. It made for a sympathetic tale, too, especially considering the man suffers from macrodystrophia lipomatosa, an ailment that left his right leg supremely swollen.
After the story went viral, help came in the form of a new passport, and THB 50,000 (SGD 2,023) in donations for a ticket home. He then promptly spent all of it in Pattaya — the sex tourism capital of the world — drinking and partying the funds away. Following that, he did it all over again, begging on Pattaya beach — before Thai authorities finally wised up and deported him.
A year later, he was seen begging again on the streets of Denmark before appearing in metro Manila. A year after that, he came to Bali and pulled the same stunt. Most recently, he was spotted panhandling in Malaysia, traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Penang and boasting about getting turnt with “cheaper girls and beach” on his Facebook page.
He managed to drop by Singapore however back in February, where he promptly visited Geylang’s red light district. But of course.
It’s unclear if he tried to pull off his begging shtick again, but the man seemed to have enjoyed sightseeing in Marina Bay, Chinatown and Sentosa before heading back to Kuala Lumpur in March.
Singapore has since wised up to his filthy reputation, however. Attempting to travel to Singapore by bus from Klang, Malaysia (where he planned to head to “gaylang”), he was turned away at Woodlands Checkpoint.
Annoyed, he went back to KL to try flying into Singapore instead.
Again, he was denied entry into the country courtesy of the Section 5A(1)(b)(i) of the Immigration Act. Let’s see what the statute says:
Holst claims that the authorities in Singapore paid for his flight to Denmark — a fact that has yet to be verified despite attempts to contact the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority of Singapore. Either way, it’s a win-win situation for all — we don’t have to host an internationally renowned degenerate, while he’s no doubt enjoying some quality time with weed.
