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A woman has drawn flak for touching and stepping on the dioramas at Haw Par Villa, which was established in 1937.

Her antics were posted on TikTok in a series of videos documenting her visit to Haw Par Villa on Oct. 10.

One video has been watched some 19,000 times.

She was seen stepping on the dioramas, caressing the statues, and posing with them.

In the 20-second clip, she could be seen stepping on the exhibits while in heels.

She pretended to pinch the body parts of a statue and smiled cheekily at the camera after that.

She also touched the hands of a statue and posed with different animal dioramas.

Subsequently, she climbed up on a diorama and posed for a picture on it.

Reactions

In response to the video, commenters expressed their disappointment while others were puzzled by her behaviour.

Some others lamented that her actions disrespected the dioramas that have existed in the park, some for more than eight decades and were painstakingly restored over the years as part of maintaining the facade of the park.

There were also users who commented that there could be a punishment for damaging public property.

Haw Par Villa's statement

Haw Par Villa released a statement on Oct. 10 to address the woman's antics.

The cultural park said visitors were well-behaved and the premises have remained incident-free, even though it has organised large-scale events, such as music festivals.

It also requested the public to refrain from second-guessing the woman's nationality.

The statement read:

Haw Par Villa reopened in July 2021 and has been receiving significant growth in its visitorship, particularly after the opening of Hell’s Museum in Oct 2021. By and large, our visitors have been very well-behaved and we do not have any major incidents to report, even when we have large-scale events such as music festivals.

Unfortunately, we have had a few incidents with visitors sitting on sculptures despite the numerous signs requesting that visitors do not do so. This is both to preserve the sculptural works of art, as well as for their own safety.

Our staff intervene regularly and firmly to prevent such negative behaviour and visitors normally comply without causing further problems.

The management of Haw Par Villa is disappointed at the behaviour of the visitor who goes by the TikTok username “anniexu403”. Her actions are irresponsible as they not only endanger herself but will also damage the art works. Furthermore, the works reflect Asian cultural values and ethical behaviour which sadly was not displayed by the visitor.

While we appreciate comments on the TikTok video asking for the visitor to respect the works of art, comments on the visitor’s nationality are inappropriate and unnecessary. As Singaporeans, we welcome all nationalities and communities to visit Haw Par Villa and we strive to create a common space for all to enjoy the beautiful works of art on display.

Top image via @anniexu403 TikTok.