Opinion | Singapore supervisor caught on video slapping intern to 'nurture him'

A supervisor at a Singaporean company was seen slapping and bullying an intern, according to a video that has since gone viral online.

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Screenshot from the video clip. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Published: 8:05am, 21 May 2013Updated: 4:13am, 29 Aug 2013

A supervisor at a Singaporean company was seen slapping and bullying an intern, according to a video that has since gone viral online.

The video, recorded by another intern, was first uploaded on Friday evening and soon gathered tens of thousands of hits. Touching on the difficult job environment for young graduates in the island-city state, it hit a raw nerve with viewers.

The video has been taken off YouTube several times, first because it contained "content designed to harass, bully or threaten" and later because of copyright infringement.

Parents of the victim confronted the supervisor at the office after watching the video and rejected his apology, according to Yahoo Singapore.

When confronted earlier by the person who filmed the slapping, the supervisor reportedly said the intern had "an inferiority complex" and he was trying to "nurture him to get over it".

"The hitting and yelling stopped when I confronted him but this kind of behaviour has most likely been going on even before I joined, and will again continue after I leave," the intern wrote.

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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}A supervisor at a Singaporean company was seen slapping and bullying an intern, according to a video that has since gone viral online.

A supervisor at a Singaporean company was seen slapping and bullying an intern, according to a video that has since gone viral online.