Calvin Cheng applauds Austria for fining those who refuse COVID jabs S$5500, says SG 'too timid with unvaccinated seniors'

Singapore — Netizens were not too happy at former Nominated Member of Parliament Calvin Cheng, who praised Austria for announcing that those who refuse to receive vaccine jabs to protect them from Covid-19 would face fines as high as S$5,500.

Mr Cheng, who has been a vocal proponent for the vaccines on social media, commented on the Facebook page of The Straits Times on Monday night (Nov 22), which linked an article to the news from Austria.

Austria is one of the few countries to make the Covid-19 vaccine mandatory and is now under lockdown due to a surge in infections. It also has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Europe, at only around 66 per cent.

“Well done,” Mr Cheng commented, adding that it’s time for Singapore to “follow suit.”

He also took a potshot at the country’s unvaccinated seniors, who number around 60,000, writing that the approach toward them has been “too timid.”

And while there were some who agreed with him, his remark did not go over very well with others.

On his own page, after Austria announced its vaccine mandate last week, Mr Cheng also wrote that Singapore should “follow suit,” adding that “It’s the only way out of the pandemic of the unvaccinated.”

/TISG Read also: Calvin Cheng suggests SG follow Austria’s example of locking down the unvaccinated https://theindependent.sg/calvin-cheng-suggests-sg-follow-austrias-example-of-locking-down-the-unvaccinated/