Kumar H Subramaniam says he never claimed to be Gupta, slams misleading LinkedIn post
A case of mistaken identity in Bali has gone viral after a woman posted a LinkedIn story claiming she met Piyush Gupta, former CEO of DBS Bank — only to be corrected by the man in question, Kumar H Subramaniam, who says he never said he was Gupta in the first place, reported livemint.com.
Kumar, a teacher in Bali, insists he clarified the confusion immediately and never approved the use of his photo to promote any narrative.
In her now-viral post, Janney Hujic recalled an encounter in Bali where she believed she had met Gupta, praising his charm and composure. But the real Piyush Gupta responded to the post himself, stating, “Sorry to disillusion you. That isn’t me!”
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The man in the photograph, 58-year-old Kumar H Subramaniam, spoke out to clarify the incident
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He explained that Hujic and her partner approached him while he was having lunch and asked if he was Piyush Gupta
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“I made it clear that I wasn’t,” Kumar said. He even joked along as they mentioned working at DBS, but maintains he never pretended to be Gupta.
Kumar firmly rejected allegations that he misled Hujic or exploited the situation for personal gain.
In his statement, Kumar emphasised he does not condone the use of any resemblance—intentional or otherwise—to mislead others. “I never agreed for my picture to be used to promote any business or social ventures,” he said.
He also addressed insinuations on social media that he tried to take advantage of the woman. “That’s simply false. She was with her partner or husband. I had no such intent and no reason to be dragged into a public situation involving someone else’s reputation.”
Having lived in Indonesia for 25 years, Kumar works as a teacher in Bali and maintains that his colleague, who was present during the interaction, can confirm his account.
