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 Anton Casey has been forced to hire a public relations firm in a
bid to fend off the growing outrage over his Facebook posts.
"Ahhhhhhhhh reunited with my baby," said the caption of a photo he
posted on Sunday, in which his son sits inside his sports car.
"Normal service can resume, once I have washed the stench of public
transport off me!"
Another photo showed his son sitting inside the intra-city train
with the caption "Daddy, where is your car & who are all these poor
people?"
Those posts went viral in the city-state, where an influx of wealthy
foreigners in recent years has fuelled growing public discontent
among a population beset by rising costs in one of the world's most
expensive cities.
The online rancor sparked a response on Thursday from Singapore's
Minister for Law and Foreign Affairs, K. Shanmugam.
"Like many Singaporeans, I am terribly upset and offended by what he
has posted. Deeply offensive, wrong, and unacceptable," the minister
wrote on his Facebook page.
Casey, who is married to the 2003 Miss Singapore, has since deleted
his posts and apologized after he received thousands of online
complaints from Singaporeans and said he has received death threats.
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"I have the highest respect and regard for Singapore and the good
people of Singapore; this is my home," he said in a statement
released through his PR firm.
"I wish for nothing more than to be forgiven for my poor judgment
and given a second chance to rebuild the trust people have had in me
as a resident of this wonderful country."
The incident has also sparked some more humorous responses.
Local bar Tuckshop has dedicated a special happy hour for Casey,
offering him a special S$120 ($93.83) rate for a pint of beer, and
S$12 for "the rest of us poor Singaporeans".
($1 = S$1.3)
(Editing by Nick Macfie)
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