SINGAPORE: For the second time in as many months, the real estate and media company Property Lim Brothers has made the news, although not in a way that its founders and employees would have wanted.
Following the scandal that involved one of the founders last month, this time, a video showing the company’s employees doing a “good fortune toss,” the traditional lo hei that many do during Lunar New Year celebrations, which did not end with just food thrown into the air.
Instead, a clip posted on Property Lim Brothers’ Facebook and Instagram accounts shows something more akin to a food fight, complete with yelling and participants throwing food at one another, laughing and taking videos, and then shaking bits of food from themselves.
Comments have been limited on the post, but this hasn’t stopped netizens from criticising the company and those who took part in the “food fight.” Many were dismayed at what they perceived to be childish behaviour on the part of the employees, as well as the waste of food.
The video was also shared on Reddit, where it was labelled, “Enjoying lo hei or wasting food?” Users on the platform have not held back on calling out what they felt was bad behaviour.
“Why lo hei until like that? This is food to eat, not to throw around,” one wrote.
“Wasting food is not an auspicious activity,” added another, while a Reddit user said it was only auspicious for dry cleaning or laundry companies.
“Mature much… and we hire these folks to represent us to buy and sell our biggest assets,” another chimed in.
“Walao, how old already still play with food?” a commenter observed.
Others compared the Property Lim Brothers’ employees to students from NTU who also received flak for a similar lo hei turned food fight, but added that while the NTU students, though no longer children, are still young, the employees are already well into adulthood.
What is lo hei for?
Lo hei is Cantonese for “tossing up.” It refers to people tossing together a dish of yusheng, made of diced bits of fish, vegetables, spices, and other ingredients, each of which has an auspicious meaning.
Tossing the dish is meant to bring on great prosperity, good fortune, and good luck. When all the ingredients are added to the dish, the diners at the table all stand up and throw the ingredients into the air with their chopsticks. As they do this, they offer good wishes or just say “lo hei, lo hei” (scoop it up, scoop it up). /TISG
Read also: Lo Hei viral video sparks outrage over food wastage
