Car flashes rude message repeatedly: S'pore driver claims he got framed, says he has many Chinese friends

The driver of a Singapore-registered car, which displayed a "F*ck Chinese" message on its rear, alleged that he was framed by an unknown party who had supposedly hacked into his display via a mobile app.

The driver said the sign was originally supposed to say, "Support Liverpool".

He also insisted that he would not do such "racist" acts as he has friends, neighbours and passengers who are Chinese.

Police investigations are ongoing.

I only found out after work: Driver

The 53-year-old driver, named Maman, told Shin Min Daily News that he had no idea that the display screen was showing a rude message when he was driving.

He had bought the display online for S$30 and used it for about half a year.

"It was supposed to display the words 'Support Liverpool'," he said.

The incident on Nov. 20 took place as Maman was travelling in his Honda Stepwagon Spada towards the Woodlands Checkpoint.

Maman, who works as a private-hire driver for Tada, said he had started his shift at 7:30pm and ended work at about 2am.

During that time, Maman said he had not noticed anything out of the ordinary.

He said that he only found out the words on the display had been changed after ending work, when a relative sent him the video which was circulating online.

Display text can be changed via app

Maman said he immediately went to check his car, but found that the text had reverted to "Support Liverpool".

He explained that this is the preset text which would be displayed after the car is stopped and its engine is restarted.

"At 9pm, I picked up a female passenger. She must have seen the text but didn't inform me. Instead, she submitted a complaint directly to Tada. So the text must have already been changed by then," said Maman.

As the display is connected to the IPixelColour mobile app, Maman said he suspected someone had connected to his display via the app and changed the text without permission.

He claimed he had not set up a password for his display prior to the incident.

A Shin Min reporter tested the app by connecting it to Maman's display, which worked from a distance of up to 50m.

Using the app, the text on the display could be changed from another phone, Shin Min reported.

Maman claimed that the altered text would be displayed even after the user who set it was out of range, and would only reset once the engine is restarted.

"I'm not a racist person. Many of my neighbours and friends are Chinese," Maman told Shin Min.

He asked: "Also, in my work, I pick up many Chinese passengers, so why would I do such a thing and damage my own livelihood?"

Police told Mothership that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing.

Display removed after LTA inspection

Additionally, Maman admitted that it was wrong of him to install such a display.

"I received a notification from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) requesting me to bring my car in for inspection," Maman said.

Maman said the display has since been removed.

According to LTA, such displays could constitute an illegal vehicle modification.

They fall under the category of decorative lamps, which include flashing decorative lights.

This is a type of vehicle modification that is not allowed in Singapore.

Top image from SGRV/Facebook & Shin Min Daily News