'We are not gangsters, we are ACS boys' quote goes viral, inspires T-shirts and song

SINGAPORE – Boys will be boys, it seems.

During a March 2 police raid at an Orchard Road KTV lounge where 14 men and 48 women were arrested over a four-day anti-crime operation targeting entertainment outlets and massage parlours, a man was found with an e-vaporiser and refused to provide his e-mail details when asked.

He was with a group of five other men in a private room, reported The Straits Times on March 8.

As officers quizzed him, one of the other male patrons raised his voice and said: “We are not gangsters. We are ACS boys.”

ACS stands for Anglo-Chinese School, and the quote has gone viral online after being highlighted on Reddit and elsewhere.

One Redditor commented: “This is the funniest thing I have seen this decade. They used ‘we are ACS boys’ as some kind of proof?”

Another said: “Was he trying to imply ‘my parents are rich and influential’? Why would anyone even say that in a situation he’s in? Sigh, there’s always that one friend.”

Netizens have come up with T-shirt designs emblazoned with the quote, which has inspired a song with the same title.

Others on social media also got in on the fun.

Local blogger and former ACS boy Lee Kin Mun, better known as mrbrown, took a dig at the saga in a video posted on social media.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPTYKbCMBKs[/embed]

Singaporean author Gwee Li Sui also wrote on Facebook: “How many ACS boys does it take to change a light bulb? None. We are not electricians. We are ACS boys.”

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[embed]https://www.facebook.com/patrick.goh.148/posts/pfbid0Brb9bzGBMRDcJ7Rbv2MmvcPKCUTmMLePcPGHoPRadNngGyjEW1o2DYDbESQ3AwJYl?__cft__[0]=AZXZrmYutVK2Lq8yh_de1dIuuG_b-C_tF_hJGnLbtqpne5pB76qIeA9ejX9ssj3PtdKGNBLUAmuo2yYuYE1_0pMAtYX5EZLUantDU71L3zbCtYlvImQ14QeMNepx5csMDf8DUOgdP1z_Ml6774Pgo7I0wz1YR7Nfxa9Ro86HfMNFqA&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R[/embed]

Among ACS’ notable alumni are President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan, Olympic swimming champion Joseph Schooling and Mandopop star JJ Lin.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/jashorn.lee/posts/pfbid0FJSi8sRkGWi8zuHhCf94trTDYpTR1DtLXhFZEGRsEynNDJ7HmoYnNrqetCzQ3qw2l?__cft__[0]=AZ[/embed]

This article was first published in The New Paper. Permission required for reproduction.