{"id":58434,"date":"2018-02-09T06:51:26","date_gmt":"2018-02-09T06:51:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=58434"},"modified":"2018-02-09T06:51:26","modified_gmt":"2018-02-09T06:51:26","slug":"singapores-escobar-to-drop-picture-of-colombian-drug-lord-after-complaints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/world-news\/singapores-escobar-to-drop-picture-of-colombian-drug-lord-after-complaints.html","title":{"rendered":"Singapore&#8217;s &#8216;Escobar&#8217; to drop picture of Colombian drug lord after complaints"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #000000\">Singapore&#8217;s &#8216;Escobar&#8217; to drop picture of Colombian drug lord after complaints<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt;color: #000000\">The owner of a Singapore bar named \u201cEscobar\u201d said a picture of the Colombian drug lord may have been a bad choice after angry complaints and a warning from the narcotics agency in a country known for its zero-tolerance policy on illegal drugs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt;color: #000000\">The gastropub in the city-state\u2019s financial district has drawn the attention of Singapore\u2019s drug enforcement agency as well as a complaint from the Colombian embassy and angry reaction from anonymous callers that included death threats.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt;color: #000000\">Stan Sri Ganesh said the name and picture of Pablo Escobar, who was killed in a police operation in 1993, on its sign had seemed perfect for the bar he opened in January.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt;color: #000000\">That opinion changed after a visit on Wednesday by the police and the Central Narcotics Bureau agents.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt;color: #000000\">\u201cOur intention was never to offend a particular individual or a community,\u201d Ganesh told Reuters. \u201cWe also never intended to condone the actions of Pablo Escobar.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt;color: #000000\">The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) had said it would be keeping a \u201cvery close watch\u201d and told the owner to uphold a strict anti-drug policy, Singapore\u2019s Channel News Asia reported, citing a CNB spokesperson.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt;color: #000000\">The CNB declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt;color: #000000\">Ganesh said he wasn\u2019t happy to be changing the bar\u2019s logo with the picture of Escobar, which had cost him $20,000 in additional expenses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt;color: #000000\">Some curious patrons thought nothing of the association with the infamous drug dealer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt;color: #000000\">\u201cI mean if the owner of Escobar actually wanted to open a \u2018drug place\u2019, it would not be right smack in the middle of town,\u201d customer Katie Kang said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt;color: #000000\">Ganesh said he was baffled by the reaction by the Colombian embassy, which had sent a three-page letter to Singapore\u2019s foreign ministry expressing its \u201cserious concern\u201d that the bar \u201cpays tribute to the worst criminal in the history of Colombia\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt;color: #000000\">Ganesh said he had no plans to change the name of the pub.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 8pt\">Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-singapore-drugs\/singapores-escobar-to-drop-picture-of-colombian-drug-lord-after-complaints-idUSKBN1FT0GG<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"fb-background-color\">\n\t\t\t  <div \n\t\t\t  \tclass = \"fb-comments\" \n\t\t\t  \tdata-href = 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