FILE – A Kim Jong Un impersonator, calling himself only Howard X from Australia, holds a unification flag while attending the Korea-Japan women’s ice hockey game at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on February 14, 2018. Photo: AP
SINGAPORE: A Kim Jong Un lookalike said he was detained and questioned upon his arrival in Singapore on Friday, days before a summit between the North Korean leader and President Donald Trump.
He said the police officers who stopped him at the Singapore Changi Airport searched his bags and questioned him for about two hours before letting him go.
He claimed police told him to stay away from Sentosa Island and Shangri-La Hotel. Kim and Trump are set to meet Tuesday at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island and Trump is expected to stay at the Shangri-La during his visit to Singapore.
Howard X said the police asked if he had been involved in protests around the world, including those by pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. He said he responded that he had been at the scene of Hong Kong demonstrations as a musician playing the drums.
“However, I never rioted and don’t plan to ever riot. I told him that I … would never do this in Singapore because it is against your rules to protest,” he told The Associated Press.
Demonstrations in Singapore can only be held in a designated area, the 2.4-acre (0.9-hectare) Hong Lim Park, and require park approval. All other gatherings require a police permit.
Police have not replied to a request for comment on the matter.
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