KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 — A Hong Kong distiller will change the name of its product after it was deemed offensive by a panel that considers complaints about products.
Incognito Group Limited, which produces the gin Fok Hing Gin, said the name was intended to pay homage to a street located in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, Fuk Hing Lane, and the name had been changed from ‘Fuk’ to ‘Fok’ to differentiate it from the offensive word used in Western culture, Daily Star reported.
The controversy erupted after the Independent Complaints Panel (ICP) received a complaint that Fok Hing Gin’s name had the potential to cause serious or widespread offence.
The complaint is the first of this nature to be upheld by the ICP, the portal added.
In the complaint, the complainant said the name Fok Hing Gin was clearly intended to shock and be pronounced as an offensive term.
“So despite claims, this is a Hong Kong language term meaning good luck — it’s obvious the intention is to shock and offend those who find swearing undesirable and unacceptable,” the complainant said.
In ruling against Incognito Group Limited, the ICP found that the play on words was intentional and the name had the same potential to cause serious or widespread offence as the word ‘f**k’, based on the brand’s marketing materials.
ICP chairman Nicola Williams said this was the first time since the addition of the rule on serious or widespread offence, that a product’s name and packaging was considered under the rule in terms of offensive language.
“It is not appropriate for marketing materials to purposefully link a name to profanity and no responsible marketing should cause serious or widespread offence.”
Similarly in Malaysia, the PAS Dewan Ulama expressed concern about the use of the name Timah as a whisky brand.
Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) Tangga Batu MP Rusnah Aluai joined the fray and asked why the image of “Captain Speedy” on the bottle’s facade, needs to be wearing a kopiah often synonymous with Muslims.
“When we say that it’s confusing, I want to stress again that this Timah brand truly is confusing. It is also included with an image of Captain Speedy donning a kopiah. Isn’t there a photo of Captain Speedy wearing a hat?
“Or this Timah brand, can’t we call it something else? Mines or The Mines or anything else?” she said, proceeding to claim that the brand is “not something that is good for women”.
The Cabinet, however, allowed the brand Timah to keep its name but the manufacturer was required to include an additional label on the whisky bottle to explain its name reference to “bijih timah” or in Bahasa Malaysia a term used for iron ores.
