Man removes clothes and runs naked around Lasalle building

SINGAPORE - No one paid much attention to a certain young man when he threw his bag down in front of Lasalle College of the Arts on Jan 26. This was until he decided to remove all of his clothes.

Stomp reader Claudette witnessed this incident at about 7.15pm yesterday evening.

She said the male in question looked to be a "very pale, young Chinese boy, between 18 to 24 years old, of slight build".

She then saw him dropping his things including a backpack and a water bottle as he walked alongside the building before stopping in the middle of the outdoor walkway.

Claudette said: "He pulled off his plain, white t-shirt and no one really paid much attention, until he began unbuttoning his trousers.

"A fistful of coins spilled out of the pockets of his blue jeans as he pulled them off and left them lying in a pile as he began removing his underpants.

"The street was not very crowded, but those standing nearby could not help but notice. Once naked, the man ran up to the end of the street and ran back to his clothes and began dressing again."

She recounted that the man neither spoke to nor looked at anyone. No one seemed to have attempted to communicate with him either.

"Passers-by stood watching, confused, shocked, laughing," Claudetter said.

"Everyone was simply confused and surprised. Perhaps this was part of some performance piece or as part of a study or project or experiment, something to do with freedom of expression maybe?"

She added that the man's stunt may have been part of "new-age ideas" or he may just be a "rebellious spirit".

According to Singapore laws, appearing nude in a public place is an offence. Anyone found guilty of this may be fined up to $2,000, face a prison term of no more than three months, or both.