S'porean man mistaken for ex-DBS CEO Piyush Gupta says he told woman it wasn't him

A Singaporean man who was wrongly identified as former DBS CEO Piyush Gupta in a viral LinkedIn post has come forward to clarify that he never claimed to be the prominent banker - and had in fact told the woman who posted the photo that she had the wrong person.

The man, Kumar H Subramaniam, 58, was thrust into an unexpected online spotlight after LinkedIn user Janney Hujic posted a photo of herself with him on May 19, claiming she had "bumped into" Mr Gupta at a café in Bali.

"I glanced across the room and thought, that looks an awful lot like Piyush. Curious, I walked over - and sure enough, it was him," Ms Hujic wrote.

The post tagged Mr Gupta and was accompanied by a polished, reflective caption typical of the professional networking site.

But the next day, Mr Gupta himself commented: "Sorry to disillusion you. That isn't me!"

Despite Mr Gupta's denial, the post remained online and quickly went viral, sparking widespread mockery across social media.

Many called it "peak LinkedIn" - a jab at the platform's reputation for overly polished, sometimes performative content.

Ms Hujic has not personally responded to the incident, but a member of her team later posted an update on her LinkedIn account.

According to the update, Ms Hujic is currently on an expedition in Vietnam's remote Tú Làn Cave, where there is no internet access.

She is expected to return online on Sunday to address the situation.

The update also clarified that Ms Hujic had used ChatGPT to help refine the wording of her original post, and had tagged Mr Gupta with the genuine belief that it was him - hoping he would respond to her post.

Her team stressed that there was no intent to deceive and that she had not knowingly misled anyone.

It is unclear whether the mix-up was a genuine mistake or an intentional stunt.

In an interview with Mothership, Mr Kumar confirmed that he was the man in the photo and clarified that he had told the woman he was not Piyush Gupta.

He explained that he had been having lunch with a colleague at a Bali café when Ms Hujic and a male companion approached him and asked if he was Piyush Gupta, even showing him a photo.

"I told them I wasn't," Mr Kumar said, adding that he'd been mistaken for the former DBS CEO more than once.

He said the trio even joked about the resemblance, with Ms Hujic saying she might prank her friends.

Mr Kumar agreed to a photo but made it clear he never identified himself as Mr Gupta.

"She said she used to work at DBS and we had a laugh," he recalled.

"But I never, at any point, said I was Mr Gupta - and I definitely did not agree for my photo to be used to promote any business or social venture," he added.

He also said that he was surprised to see the photo on LinkedIn the next day, especially after having clarified his identity.

Mr Kumar, who has lived in Indonesia for 25 years and now works as a teacher in Bali, said he received a contact number from the man accompanying Ms Hujic, but has no plans to reach out.

"Why should I call them when I'm not in the wrong? They should be the ones to contact me," he said.

He also denied online speculation that he had misled Ms Hujic on purpose or flirted with her: "Some have said I tried to bed her - but she was with her partner or husband."

Mr Kumar said his colleague, who was present during the encounter, can vouch for his version of events.

Following the viral post, Mr Kumar said he has received a wave of racist comments online - many targeting his ethnicity.

"If you read the comments, they mention scam centres, say all Indian men are the same, or use the 'K' word," he said.

He added: "This is racism at work. Bald Indian men with glasses look alike?"

He added that racism was one of the reasons he left Singapore years ago.

"One reason I left was because people would say things like 'Serangoon smells bad'. Now, 25 years later, I'm still getting trolled online" he said.

Asked whether he would consider taking legal action, Mr Kumar said he has no plans to sue.

"Some have asked me to, but this is just an online storm in a teacup. We all know the news cycle - in a week's time, this will blow over," he said.

What he wants, he said, is to take a stand.

"I just want people to stop stereotyping and making offensive remarks. That's all."

And if you happen to be in Bali?

"If you ever see me at the café, just say hi," he said.