Avijit Das Patnaik posted a picture on Facebook of a torn Singapore flag, only to reveal the Indian flag underneath. | Photo Credit: Twitter

Singapore: Desecrating any national flag is a criminal offence, and this is a code an Indian-origin employee at Singapore’s DBS Bank didn’t take seriously.

Avijit Das Patnaik posted a picture on Facebook of a torn Singapore flag, only to reveal the Indian flag underneath. The tribute to his motherland on the occasion of India’s Independence Day didn’t go down well with the country he was residing in.

On August 14, he posted the image on a Facebook group called ‘Singapore Indians & Expats’, showing the Singapore flag on a T-shirt being torn apart to reveal the Indian flag. The group has 11,000 members, according to a Channel NewsAsia report.

Patnaik, who had been living in Singapore for a decade, had posted it with a caption that read – Phir bhi dil hai hindustani (My heart is still Indian), with reference to a popular Bollywood song.

The post went viral and created an outrage in the country, with many calling it “offensive” and “insulting to Singapore”. The post has since been taken down.

The Singapore-headquartered bank, in a comment to the complaints pouring on its Facebook page on August 19, had stated that Patnaik had posted the picture because he “wanted to show that even as he is in Singapore, he remains Indian at heart”.

“Upon realising the graphic was offensive, he took it down immediately,” DBS said in a statement, adding that the firm had counselled Patnaik for his act.

On Tuesday, the bank released an official statement on its Facebook page stating that Patnaik was no longer their employee.

“Since the incident, a disciplinary committee had been convened and as of August 24, he (Patnaik) is no longer with the bank,” DBS Bank said in the post.

“DBS strongly disapproves of such actions by our employees. At the same time, it is fair and right that all employees are given the benefit of due process,” it said.

As per the Singapore Arms and Flag National Anthem Act, anyone who treats the national flag with disrespect will be fined a maximum of 1,000 Singapore dollars.

Meanwhile, Channel NewsAsia reported that the local police have confirmed that a report has been registered and investigations were underway.

