Walking to Punggol MRT Station after school, she was surrounded by three men who looked like they were in their late teens outside the station’s entrance.
They claimed to be from the Criminal Investigation Department and demanded donations.
Nothing less than $10 would do.
But the Secondary One student from Peicai Secondary School was unconvinced.
They looked like gangsters, she recalled, and stared at them before walking away without giving a cent.
In the past week, messages have been circulating about the men demanding money from students and the elderly from various places like Lavender and Boon Lay MRT stations, Nex shopping mall at Serangoon Central and Tampines Bus Interchange.
Parents took to Facebook to post about their children’s encounters with the men at various MRT stations across the island.
The New Paper (TNP) was at Punggol MRT station yesterday, where the suspects had been seen canvassing for donations, and saw police officers patrolling the area.
The student, who was at the station, told TNP: “I knew the men were lying. They didn’t look like real policemen.”
On Thursday, the Police posted an advisory on their Facebook page saying they were looking into reports of people forcibly seeking donations in public.
They added: “The Singapore Police Force would like to clarify that we do not seek donations.”
They said only those with a valid licence issued by them or the National Council of Social Services can ask for donations.
Offenders can be fined up to $5,000 or jailed up to two years or both.
The police added anyone who impersonates a public servant can be jailed up to two years, or fined, or both.
Another student, from a nearby secondary school, told TNP her friend had also been approached by three men outside Punggol MRT station.
They showed her a certificate, claimed they were soliciting donations to help ex-convicts and demanded at least $10.
Source: www.tnp.sg
