Law Professor Thio Li-Ann was recently invited to give a seminar on Human Rights at the European Union Delegation in Singapore.
Dr Thio had been giving a speech on human rights but this had sparked anger among some LGBT activists who criticized the fact that Dr Thio had been chosen to give a speech.
Dr Thio, who used to be a Nominated Member of Parliament, has spoken out against LGBT rights in Singapore and this is why LGBT activists were angry.
They felt that human rights should be about all humans, regardless of their sexuality so inviting an openly anti-gay professor to speak about human rights was highly hypocritical.
As a result, several protesters attended the speech, and stood in silent protest, taping their mouths shut with rainbow tape and holding placards with LGBT rights slogans on them.
However, this action itself has also drawn protest with at least two supporters of Dr Thio having written in to the government to protest the fact that the protesters were allowed to disturb the event.
In a letter to the Minister of Social and Family Development, Chan Chun Sing and also the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mr Chee Wee Kiong, the supporters wrote that the LGBT activists had disturbed the event and hijacked the Q&A session.
"This incident is distressing because it evidences a climate where bully tactics, public shaming and mob intimidation are justified under the banner of 'free speech'," they wrote.
They also took issue with the EU delegation for allowing the protestors into the event.
They wrote that such action was effectively allowing the EU delegation, a foreign body, to meddle with domestic politics, something which is strictly not allowed in Singapore.
The concerned citizens also produced a petition which had over 1,500 signatures in support of Dr Thio being invited to speak at the event.
Indeed, the organizers are likely to have had a part in allowing the protestors in as the event was a closed-door event. However, the EU delegation explained that "All the panelists who addressed the audience were local. The seminar forms part of the EU's interaction with Singapore's civil society and in no way constitutes interference in the internal affairs of the host country."
A spokesperson also explained that "Those who initiated the protest were registered participants, in line with the closed-door nature of the event. Given the civil manner in which it was carried out, there were no grounds to intervene or to prevent the protest."