Most Singaporeans would spare no effort to aid those who are in desperate need of help. But it certainly doesn’t feel good to find out that it was all an act to con unsuspecting victims.
Recently, several women have been spotted approaching men near MRT stations in the heartlands, begging for money and food.
However, some of the kind-hearted folks who extended help suspect they may have fallen prey to a cheating ploy. One victim who gave one of the women S$5 found the same lady at another MRT station a few days later, approaching members of the public for money.
Earlier this month, a video was posted in the Singapore Incidents Facebook group, showing a woman begging for food at an undisclosed HDB estate.
In the video, the woman claimed that she and her companion had lost money while gambling at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) and did not have enough money with them to eat.
Source: Facebook
She begged the person behind the camera for something to eat and claimed that she could treat them to a meal afterwards when one of her friends came over to pick her and a companion up.
The video ended with the person recording the exchange turning down the request and walking away.
Turns out, others in Singapore had similar experiences as well.
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, Mr Liu (name transliterated from Chinese) said he had a similar encounter with a woman along Bedok North Street 1 earlier this month.
Even though the two women were different, their sob stories were largely the same.
Feeling sympathetic about her predicament, Mr Liu handed S$20 to the woman for food.
However, the amount apparently wasn’t enough as she then requested more money for her accommodation.
In total, the 50-year-old reportedly handed the woman S$220 that day.
Mr Liu also claimed that the woman had added him on WeChat, promising to pay him back and treat him to a meal afterwards.
But after speaking to some friends, he found that he had likely been cheated and proceeded to delete the woman’s contact.
A Shin Min Daily reporter did not get a response when they attempted to add the woman’s WeChat ID.
In late October, Shin Min Daily News reported about groups of foreign women approaching members of the public for money and food.
Mr Li (name transliterated from Chinese), recounted his meeting with two women in their 30s at Bukit Gombak MRT station.
They too, begged for food, claiming that they were visiting Singapore and were due to return home the following day.
After Mr Li treated them to chicken rice and some drinks, the pair continued asking for “living expenses”.
The 65-year-old sensed that something was amiss at the point and decided to leave, but not before spotting the two women approaching another man afterwards.
Three months before, Mr Li claimed that he similarly bumped into two other women at Woodlands MRT station who asked for food.
He eventually treated one of them to a bowl of beef noodles but the woman asked if she could buy another bowl for her sister.
Agreeing to the request, Mr Li ended up spending S$28 on the two bowls of noodles.
Mr Li isn’t the only person with repeated experiences with the alleged swindlers.
67-year-old Mr Chen (name transliterated from Chinese) told Shin Min Daily that he recently encountered a woman with a similar excuse at Lakeside MRT Station, and proceeded to hand her S$5.
A few days later, however, he bumped into the same woman, this time at Jurong East MRT Station.
The woman apparently switched up her sob story, from losing money through gambling to not having enough money to get around.
Mr Chen also claimed that she bore an uncanny resemblance to the woman in the viral video posted in the Singapore Incidents Facebook group.
Also read: Netizen Spots ‘Beggars’ At MacPherson MRT, They’ll Allegedly Ask For Top-Up Money
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Featured image adapted from Facebook and Shin Min Daily News.
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