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Singapore’s government has withdrawn its fictional band of coronavirus battling superheroes after complaints about a Liverpool-hating member of the five-strong Virus Vanguard.
Less than 24 hours after the team was unveiled, the government announced on Monday that they were reviewing the situation.
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“The Virus Vanguard is undergoing a review. We have received quite a lot of feedback on the characters and we will be reviewing them. We are sorry if we offended anyone,” it said.
The group were part of of a public information campaign created to reinforce how the authorities want the public to behave during the lockdown, which is known as “circuit breaking” in Singapore.
The members — Circuit Breaker, Fake News Buster, Dr Disinfector, Care-leh Dee and MAWA [Must Always Walk Alone] Man — all had special abilities which helped people to stay home, keep things clean, not spread rumours and look after each other’s mental health.
Much of the controversy was focused on MAWA Man, who had the ability to force people to maintain social distancing through telekinetic power.
Growing up in the 80s supporting Manchester United and taunted by two Liverpool-supporting brothers, made him, according to the government’s official website, “despise everything Liverpool including their motto You’ll Never Walk Alone. His hatred for Liverpool so far exceeds his love for Man Utd that it manifested as a telekinesis power.”
A petition organised by Liverpool fans in Singapore has received over 760 signatures.
“‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is a song that was collectively used by most European radio stations as a show of solidarity amidst the Covid-19 lockdowns,” the group wrote. “Yet this campaign appears to be an attempt to make a mockery of the song. This is distasteful and extremely disrespectful.”
Liverpool have a long-standing and substantial fanbase in the country.
Singapore reported a record 1,426 new coronavirus cases on Monday and its total of over 8,000 confirmed cases is the highest in Southeast Asia.