A video of a new fire fighter stripped naked with his hands tied up in the toilet of a fire station in the north of Singapore was posted online on Nov 6.

The video of a blanket party - posted on LiveLeak.com - came with a short comment "This is a welcoming/blanket party for a new Firefighter guy inside toilet. That black thing is Kiwi polish shoe".

The video was also posted on YouTube but was removed due to "violation of terms of use".

The videographer even films close up shots of the newbie's crotch several times. You can also hear taunts and cat-calling from other firefighters in the background.

The "victim" himself, trying to take the ragging good-naturedly, smiles and even waves at the camera.

In a response to STOMP, SCDF said that, "Preliminary investigation shows that this incident had happened sometime last year when a small group of NSFs newly posted to one of our fire stations were involved in a prank during non-active duty period . The matter was not brought to the attention of their supervisors.

The SCDF takes a serious view and do not condone such acts. We have a directive issued to our personnel against conducting or participating in any form of ragging activities in the Force; and there are provisions for punishment to be meted out to offenders. All our regular and NSF personnel have also been briefed on this as well. We are conducting a full investigation into this case. Strong disciplinary action will be taken against those involved."

While such initiation rites are common in schools and the military, there have been deaths and injuries caused by hazing or ragging, and concerns that it may go too far.

Several US states have anti-hazing legislation and, in France, hazing can result in up to six months in jail or a fine.

» Watch the video here

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