Anton Casey Screws Singapore

She may not be as well-known as Ris Low, but I’ve heard of former Miss Singapore Bernice Wong. As for her ang moh husband Anton Casey, I must say that I have no idea who he is until the recent hooha.

Apparently, he posted a Facebook picture of his son on the MRT. He included some text which said:

“Daddy where is your car & who are all these poor people?”

Ah, “poor boy”. Imprisoned in his little castle, he’s not even aware that there are so many of these “poor people” who can’t afford a COE and have no choice but to take public transport. Isn’t it an honour that folks like Anton Casey could actually consider taking the MRT and share the same space with us? As a member of the humble poor, I could only dream of making contact with people like Casey if they happen to crash their Ferrari into the taxi I’m in.

There’s more. Not long after that Facebook posting, Anton Casey posted another picture. This time, it was a picture of his car – a Porsche. The accompanying text is as follows:

“Ahhhhhhhh reunited with my baby. Normal service can resume, once I have washed the stench of public transport off me FFS!”

Can I believe that? Of course I can. He has money to burn and like it or not, in Singapore, money buys you just about everything you need. That little boy who just took the MRT for the first time in his life will probably not need to sit in an army truck with muddy, sweaty soldiers while he does research in an air-con lab as part of his National Service. But then, I digress. I’m not a mind-reader, but many filthy rich people think exactly the way Casey thinks. It’s not a crime to be obnoxiously arrogant, but could a shrewd investor like Anton Casey have failed to realise that he was stirring the hornet’s nest? Perhaps he couldn’t give a hoot. Or perhaps, he thought that Singaporeans, like those who very “professionally” suck up to him would timidly and subserviently thank him for kicking them in the butt?

Such confidence. Following the online reaction, he quickly changed his name. When that didn’t work, he condescended to deactivating his Facebook account. His wife, our very own local talent Bernice Wong, also deactivated hers. Why? Perhaps, he caught wind of the authorities or his bosses considering making nasty moves that will affect his employment status if the public reaction reaches a level that would affect business.

Well, he has apologised and we’d be fools to think that he’s sincere. Interestingly, our Straits Times published his apology and deleted all the earlier Stomp postings on his rude remarks. You can only find them on “alternative” media now and TRE reported receiving a message from his lawyer not to infringe on “copyright” and post screen captures from his Facebook account.

Yes, sincere or not, I’m sure all this will blow over, but make no mistake, nothing will change even if a minister comes forward to assure us that Mr Casey is not who we think he is. Nothing changes. Not Anton Casey’s attitude. Not the bragging rights of the rich and famous. It brings forth a grim reminder that to many foreigners who settle down here, this is just Singapore Inc – with relatively low tax rate, plenty to exploit and preferential treatment to boot. Settling down here is purely business, purely a trade with their own benefit being the top consideration. We would be naive to think that we can regard them as family and receive the respect we deserve. Given a chance, they would screw us hard – all for their own pride, prejudice and profit. Isn’t it funny that local charities would reject donations from morally controversial characters but not hypocrites? No matter how ugly the dress made from money is, Singapore Inc will gladly wear it.

We can only hope that karma sorts things out.