UPDATE
The child in the photo has been confirmed by the Straits Times as a student of Henry Park Primary School.
In an interview with the Straits Times, principal Chia Soo Keng of Henry Park Primary School stated that the child in the video is “deeply apologetic” and has undergone counseling.
The principal also said that the child regrets his action and his guardians and parents are making sure he learns from this event.
Alvinology.com will update this article as more details emerge.
What happened?
On last night’s coverage of the National Day Parade, a boy in a red blazer (which was the parade costume for their performance) was shown on live television making a rude gesture using his middle finger.
The incident happened towards the end of the parade coverage, where the boy can be seen looking into the camera behind his other classmates, calmly making the gesture. The whole incident happened only for five seconds.
Video coverage of the incident
You can also take a look at the full media coverage of the NDP 2017, where the incident occurred.
In the video, you can see a child at the 2:47:53 mark on the left side looking at the camera and raising his hand in a rude gesture. His other classmates are at the forefront of the shot, and he is standing on an elevated platform compared to his peers.
Which school?
The children in that performance were mentioned to be students of Henry Park Primary school, according to the parade’s host in earlier commentary. In a story from the Straits Times, the boy has been confirmed to be a student of Henry Park Primary School on Holland Road.
A photo has surfaced, though, of a child wearing the same garb as the boy in the photo being reprimanded by two adults.
The Henry Park Primary School website has reported that some 400 of its students were slated to perform on the National Day Parade.
Netizens react
Netizens have been reacting to the little boy’s actions, with some of them being indulgent.
User Zeit on Kiasuparents’ forum thought that what the little boy did was cute and hopes that the child does not get detention on Friday.
A user named Energyi5 on the Hardwarezone forums, however, said that the child deserves a slap.
Not the only mishap
This isn’t the only blooper that’s ever happened on a National Day Parade. Here are other times when someone’s made a mistake or enacted something funny on camera for the parade.
The National Day Parade in 2015 had this beauty to thank for its controversy:
Emma Lee, a 31-year-old business woman from China stopped the show and was featured on the live broadcast at least five times thanks to her good looks and snazzy ensemble. Wearing a red dress and pearl necklace, the press were scrambling to uncover her identity two years ago and ask her what she thought of Singapore.
She runs a steel and aluminum trading business and has settled in Singapore, according to the Straits Times.
Last year, during the National Day Parade 2016 coverage, Alvinology.com noted the presence of a beautiful sign language interpreter named Neoh Yew Kim, who is now 23 years old. The hard-of-hearing deaf language instructor won netizens’ hearts and even went on to tell her story on Humans of Singapore.
Alvinology was able to find out more about her. Check out our post from last year here.
What do you think of the boy who made the rude gesture during the parade? If you were his parent, how would you feel? Let us know in the comments!
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The occurrence transpired during the latter portion of the parade footage, whereby the male child can be observed directing his gaze towards the camera positioned behind his fellow classmates, exhibiting a composed demeanor while gesturing.