A comedian who impersonates Kim Jong Un says he was detained by authorities at Singapore’s airport ahead of high stakes talks between Donald Trump and the secretive North Korean leader.
The Australian, who goes by the name Howard X, made the claim just days before the city hosts the summit, and said he was detained for two hours and questioned for around 30 minutes when he arrived in the early hours of Friday at Changi Airport.
Singapore’s immigration authority, and the Singapore police, have not commented on the claims.
″(They) asked me what my political views were and if I have been involved with protests in other countries,” he said, adding that he was told to stay away from Sentosa Island and the Shangri-La, two areas that are designated “special event areas” for the summit.
“They said, ‘It’s the Trump-Kim summit, you’ve come at a very sensitive time’.”
Howard X was in Singapore late last month posing as Kim Jong Un against a backdrop of the city’s bay which features sites such as the Merlion and the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.
He said he is planning similar stunts for the purpose of political satire in the coming days, this time in tow with Trump impersonator Dennis Alan. Howard said he is not planning any protests.
Rights groups have criticised Singapore’s laws that claim limit free speech and peaceful assembly. For example, protests have to be pre-approved and are allowed only at a designated downtown area called the Speakers’ Corner.
Singapore maintains that its laws and regulations are needed to maintain social order and harmony.