'Don't be arrogant because you're an artiste': Mark Lee recalls encounter with expletive-spewing gangster in Geylang

You may have heard of honour among thieves, but how about courtesy from gangsters?

In an E-Junkies interview with AsiaOne for the new local movie Geylang, Mark Lee shared an encounter with two very different gangsters while out eating at the titular location.

"There were two gangsters eating and drinking," the 54-year-old veteran actor recalled. "One of them pointed at me and said in Hokkien, 'Don't be arrogant because you're an artiste', while also throwing a lot of vulgarities at me."

Mark shared that he kept quiet and continued eating his frog porridge because he felt like there was nothing he could do about it, but then something unexpected happened.

"The other guy tried to ask him to calm down, and at the same time also scolded him," Mark revealed.

The gangster reasoned with the aggressor that Mark wasn't doing anything and was just sitting there eating porridge, Mark said.

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He added: "At the time I felt like that wasn't too bad. It wasn't two against one, it was one positive and one negative.

"After that, the guy that scolded me just kept quiet, and when they walked away, the positive guy [apologised to me]."

In the movie, Mark plays Fatty, a pimp that operates a brothel in Geylang. However, his earnings aren't quite enough to cover his debt, and he ends up embroiled in a struggle over love, power and money with other inhabitants of the red-light district.

While some may view Geylang and the people in it as unsavoury or ill-natured, Mark also opined that that's not the full story.

"I think in Geylang we also meet some of the good people, even some of the gangsters — I believe everyone needs respect… You just need to say 'Hello', 'Have you eaten?', 'Drink alcohol?', and they'll be happy."

He added: "I believe that if you respect them, they will respect you. So don't try to ya-ya-papaya (be arrogant) — they won't care. For the people there, as long as you respect them, they will be nice to you."

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjdF9OGDP2o[/embed]

Mark also explained that on an individual level, everyone, including himself, has both good and bad qualities.

"In some situations, people will provide a helping hand, while some would just walk away without doing anything… I always believe that if you want people to treat you well, you must first do something good for them.

"Because when you don't help people when they need help, I believe that one day if you have any problems or troubles nobody will help you."

Geylang, directed by Boi Kwong, is currently showing in theatres across Singapore and also stars Sheila Sim, Shane Mardjuki, Gary Lau and Patricia Lin.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com

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