Action star Jackie Chan did not only offend the Chinese living in Hong Kong and Taiwan, his "speech of freedom" that drew widespread ire recently also spoke badly about Singaporeans.

He had apparently said that Singaporeans have no sense of self-respect.

Chan, who spoke last Saturday at the Boao Forum for Asia, said that the Chinese have to be controlled or society would be "chaotic" like that of Taiwan and Hong Kong.

During the forum's question and answer session, Chan said in his reply to a question from the media, "When I go to Singapore, I realize that chewing gum is not allowed there. Why is this so?

"I found out later that if (Singaporeans) chew gum, they will dispose of the used gum on tabletops, on chairs, and (they) have no sense of self-respect."

According to the Shin Min report, he also pointed out that unlike the Americans and the Japanese, "they" do not have that sense of self-respect. And when this is lacking, the government will have to step in.

Should one be sensitive, the action star's words might be interpreted as him saying that Singaporeans are not as orderly as the Americans or the Japanese. Compared to the people in these two countries, Singaporeans thus have less self-respect and in turn, are not allowed to chew gum.

This was not Chan's only comment about Singapore in his speech. The actor also spoke about the country's laws.

"When you reach Singapore, you must obey its laws, if you are caught littering, you will go to jail right away."

These words, according to the Shin Min report, seem to have exaggerated the severity of Singapore's penal code.

Shin Min spoke to members of the public, who thought that Jackie Chan did not have an in-depth understanding of Singapore's law and culture, and should thus not make such sweeping comments about the country and its people.

Miss Wang, 29, told Shin Min, "He is not a political figure, and should not make comments that are political in nature. The problem about chewing gum being inappropriately disposed of is not confined to Singapore alone, and he should not single out one country in his comments.

Real estate agent, Mr Lim, 30, said, "I think that he had gone a little overboard in his comments about Singapore."

The actor's close friend and publicist however, told Shin Min that Chan's words were misunderstood. "Every time Jackie visits Singapore, he will speak about how nice and clean the country is. He speaks very quickly, and because of this, people might interpret his words in a different way."