Police investigating 2 teenagers for allegedly vandalising government property as part of 'devious licks' challenge
File picture of armed policemen in Singapore. (Photo: AFP/Roslan Rahman)
SINGAPORE: Two teenagers are under investigation in separate incidents for allegedly taking down public signage as part of a social media challenge, the police said on Tuesday (Sep 21).
Both incidents are believed to be related to the "devious licks" challenge in which students were originally encouraged to vandalise or steal school property and post the results on the social media platform TikTok.
"Police are aware of social media posts circulating online showing the removal of government property by persons," said the police in the news release.
On Sep 19 at about 5pm, police received a report showing a photo of a teenage boy holding a Kaki Bukit MRT sign, which was originally mounted onto the frame of a sheltered walkway leading to the MRT station.
The photo was posted on various social media platforms, said the police.
The 15-year-old identity was subsequently established and the sign, which belonged to the Land Transport Authority, was recovered from his home.
The second incident took place on the same day at about 9.40pm.
The police said they received a report showing a TikTok video of another teenage boy holding onto a sign belonging to the National Environment Agency.
Through follow-up investigations, the identity of a 14-year-old teenage boy was established.
"He had allegedly removed the signage, which was originally affixed into the ground along Jalan Songket, for his video and returned it to its original position after filming," police said.
"The police would like to remind the public that such acts involving the removal of government property without the written authority of an authorised officer or representative of the Government constitute an offence of vandalism punishable under Section 3 of the Vandalism Act."
Those found guilty of the offence can be jailed up to three years, fined up to S$2,000 and caned between three to eight strokes.
"Members of the public are reminded to abide by our laws, and not to participate in acts or viral online trends that constitute a criminal offence," said police, adding that those who break the law will be dealt with firmly.
TIKTOK ADDRESSES CRAZE
On Sep 15, TikTok said that it expected its community to "create responsibly" both online and in real life.
"We're removing content and redirecting hashtags & search results to our community guidelines to discourage such behavior," the company said in a tweet, referring to the "devious lick" challenge. Lick is slang for theft.
"Please be kind to your schools and teachers," it added.
