Chinese teen under fire for offensive remarks about Singaporeans

A Chinese teen dubbed the "snake spirit boy" by netizens has drawn the ire of many Singaporeans with his comments about their use of English.

Liu Zi Chen, 19, found fame on the Internet last year after posting photos of himself posing nude and with stacks of cash. Netizens pointed out that he had an unusually sharp jaw and large eyes, and accused him of going under the knife as well as digitally editing his photos to appear more feminine.

On Wednesday morning (Feb 3), Liu again caused controversy by posting a photo of himself with a note addressed to Singaporeans.

"Don't think you are of a higher class just because you can speak some English," Liu wrote. "I can't speak English but I am of an even higher class than you," he added.

He also said Singaporeans were not able to speak their own language, and declared that he looked down on Singaporeans.

His comments soon caught the attention of Singaporean Facebook users, many of whom retaliated by criticising him on his page.

But the backlash did not seem to intimidate Liu, and he shot back with another post on Thursday morning (Feb 4). In the new post, Liu said he did not want to step into Singapore as it is a "low" place. "I now love Malaysians and Taiwanese people the most, and hate pretentious Singaporeans the most," he wrote.

His latest statement is a sharp U-turn from the one he made in a video posted online last year. In the video, Liu had criticised Malaysians and Taiwanese people who made fun of his looks online. "I understand that you all are not as rich as me and not as good looking as me, and don't have money to go for plastic surgery," he said then.

The teen had previously claimed that he had not undergone any plastic surgery, even after old photos of him looking drastically different were shared online.

Accusing his detractors of being jealous, Liu said then: "I used to look this way many years ago, but since then I have gotten thinner. I do not go for plastic surgery because I am naturally perfect."

ljessica@sph.com.sg