Imagine this: you’re enjoying some alone time in the beautiful surroundings of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, when all of a sudden, a stranger comes up and asks to photograph your foot.
It sounds like a strange scenario, but that was what allegedly happened to a woman on 17 Apr.
A man had approached her and claimed that his odd request was for a joint event by the People’s Association (PA) and Youth Corps Singapore.
Feeling uncomfortable, the woman called the police, who are now investigating the incident.
Speaking to The Straits Times (ST), the woman, a 24-year-old recent university graduate, shared that she was having a picnic by a pond in the Botanic Gardens when the encounter happened.
Source: Singapore Botanic Gardens on Facebook, for illustration purposes only
At around 3.30pm, the man came up to her and showed her an Instagram post featuring someone’s foot with words of encouragement written on it.
Claiming to be from PA, he then asked if he could do the same with her foot.
According to the man, it was for a poster for an upcoming event held by PA and the National Youth Council’s Youth Corps.
The woman hesitated at first but eventually agreed as she wanted to get it over and done with.
However, she became suspicious when she saw that he was taking a video of her with his phone.
Source: Clique Images on Unsplash
She told ST that this was a “red flag” to her and that she needed to get away from him quickly. In addition, she was afraid that he might “do something worse” to her.
The man had also made her uncomfortable by touching her foot, supposedly adjusting its position for the picture.
After the woman had removed the ink from her foot, he allegedly asked if they could be friends, but she turned him down. He eventually left her alone.
The woman relayed the incident to her brother, who urged her to report the matter to the police.
She did so at about 4.20pm that day. Police have confirmed to ST that a 35-year-old man is currently assisting with ongoing investigations.
When contacted by ST, a PA spokesperson clarified that they are not organising any programmes with the Youth Corps that involve human feet.
The spokesperson added that PA staff always wear an official pass showing their name and photograph.
“When in doubt, members of the public should request to see the official pass,” she said. “They can also check with staff at their nearest community clubs for verification.”
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Featured image adapted from PDAA Design.
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