Indian national wins big in Korean survival drama Squid Game at Singapore company dinner-dance
Singapore, Jun 1: An Indian national has won SGD18,888 in cash at the company's dinner-and-dance event in the hit South Korean survival drama Squid Game, where players compete to win life-altering rewards, but minus the deadly stakes.
The prize money is equivalent to one and half years' worth of his salary at the heavy vehicle leasing firm Pollisum Engineering which hosted the event last Saturday, reported The Straits Times.
Selvam Arumugam, 42, had not heard of the show before.
Selvam works as a rigger and signalman, inspecting and maintaining crane and lifting equipment to ensure the safety of lifting operations at construction sites for Pollisum Engineering which gave out a total of SGD100,000 in prize money during the event.
Selvam, who studied up to Secondary 1 in India and joined the company in 2015, supports 15 family members back home. His parents and two brothers have died, leaving behind their wives and a total of seven children. He also provides for his in-laws.
Selvam said he will use the prize money to build a family home in India the family currently lives in a rental flat and help his brothers' children pay for their studies.
"When I found out that I had won, I couldn't believe it... I called my entire family to tell them about this good news," he said in Tamil.
"My wife thought it was a joke at first until (my friend) spoke to her. All of them were celebrating and crying at the same time. This will be a moment that we will never forget for our entire lives," Selvam added.
In the Netflix series, hundreds of cash-strapped contestants compete in children's games for a huge cash prize while risking their lives in the process.
Players at the dinner and dance sported red tracksuit jackets with number tags, while game masters wore red hooded jumpsuits, like characters in the drama series.
A giant inflatable ball filled with money hung from the ceiling in full view of the players, similar to the show' piggy bank.
Despite not understanding the rules of the games, he tried his best, said Selvam, who has a wife and three teenage children. He first came to Singapore to work in 2007 from Tamil Nadu.
He copied what players in front of him were doing and ran as fast as he could during the Red Light, Green Light game and managed to escape elimination.
In a TikTok video of the event, Selvam is seen falling to his knees and covering his face with his hands in disbelief when he learnt he had won the top prize. He won SGD18,888 (more than Rs 11.50 lakh) in cash.
The company's annual dinner and dance was attended by 210 employees, including mechanics, drivers and sales staff.
Executive director Chris Ang said the company wanted to reward its workers as it has been doing well and expanding in the past two years.
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
