In Singapore, smiley faces are not as innocent as they seem—at least not in the hands of a hardened criminal like Mr Wham, who has frequently violated the city-state’s laws.

Jolovan Wham had held up signs in public on two occasions, including one which featured a hand-drawn smiley face on the placard.

Porirua's new public face is a hand-drawn smiley face labelled "limp and childlike" by Taxpayers' Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke.