Woman kicks head of lion dance costume disrupting performance, couple arrested for public nuisance

Posted on 31 July 2023 | 6,194 views | 22 comments

Gabrielle Chan
The Straits Times
July 30, 2023

A man and a woman have been arrested after disrupting a lion dance performance by shouting and kicking the head of the lion costume at West Coast Community Centre on Saturday.

Their son, who is a performer with Times Cultural Arts, was taking part in the two-day Ngee Ann City National Lion Dance Championship organised by the Singapore Wushu Dragon and Lion Dance Federation (SWDLDF).

According to Chinese daily Shin Min Daily News, the lion dance team members were arranging their props when a couple suddenly rushed in and caused a scene, interrupting the performance.

The pair were caught on video shouting the Mandarin phrase “mei da mei xiao”, which means “showing no respect”. The woman allegedly kicked a lion’s head that was placed on the ground.

The judges and lion dancers tried to stop the couple and ushered them to the side of the hall, where they continued to shout at and push the performers. They eventually left after a few judges intervened.

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On Sunday, the police said they were alerted to an incident on Saturday at 3.45pm at 2 Clementi West Street 2.

A 58-year-old man and a 51-year-old woman were subsequently arrested for allegedly causing public nuisance.

Police investigations are ongoing.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, Mr Joseph Low, secretary-general of SWDLDF, said the parents tried to stop their son, 25, from taking part in the competition after some miscommunication between the three of them.

Mr Low said the son’s team had initially wanted to withdraw from the competition due to the disruption, but the organisers allowed them to compete at a later time if they wanted to.

On Sunday, the team achieved Gold in the competition and advanced into the semi-finals to be held at Ngee Ann City from Sept 4 to 9.

Mr Low said: “This reflects that the team, particularly the son, have put in good effort and displayed grit and tenacity.

“We hope the parents support their son in this sport which helps in character-building.”