http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,209328,00.html?
Couple using toddler as donation bait?
They beg, then they laugh
Ang Mo Kio residents say pair jeers at those who refuse them money
By Elysa Chen
August 02, 2009
OTHER PLACES: The family has also been spotted in Serangoon, Bishan and Hougang telling the same story. --PICTURE: STOMP --
THE boy, barely 2 years old, looks thin and sickly. His parents approach passers-by with a desperate plea: 'Can you give us some money? We need to take our child to the hospital.'
But residents in Ang Mo Kio Ave 10, where the man, woman and toddler are often spotted, are cautioning others not to part with their money so easily.
They believe that the couple, who are in their 20s, are using their son as bait to get money.
Miss Yan Lan Hua, 20, a factory worker from China, gave the couple $10 after they claimed that they left their bag in a taxi and needed money to take their child to the hospital.
She said: 'They had tattoos on their arms. I gave them money because the boy looked skinny and sickly.'
However, she believes that she was cheated because when she turned around, she saw the husband laughing with his wife.
Miss Yan, who earns about $600 to $700 a month, was so angry that she wanted to confront the couple, but then changed her mind.
She said: 'I'll just treat it as a lesson, and never give money to such people again. If I ever see them again, I will call the police.'
Her flatmate also had the same experience with the couple a few days earlier, said Miss Yan.
A provision shop owner at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10, who wanted to be known only as Mr Ting, said the couple are familiar faces in the area.
However, he has not seen them in the area for the past two weeks.
He recounted an incident when the couple fought outside his shop because the man refused to give his wife money to buy biscuits.
He said: 'They always look like they are in a daze. They don't smell of alcohol, yet they look drunk.'
He said the couple usually approached middle-aged women, asking first for small amounts like $4 or $5, but when their victims took out their wallets, they would ask for more.
Some residents and workers in the area have complained about the couple on Stomp, The Straits Times interactive Internet portal.
Miss Liz Lee, 30, an accounts assistant who works in Ang Mo Kio, posted pictures of the couple, cautioning others not to fall for the couple's 'plight'.
In her post, Miss Lee said: 'This couple got caught in the act when five victims from three separate incidents spoke to their colleagues and discovered that they all had been cheated of their money by the same people.'
Taxi fare
She said that besides asking for taxi fare, they would also try to get extra money for the child's medical treatment.
The couple would also make 'jeering' faces at those who did not give them money, she said.
'Please note and guard yourself against these callous people who have no qualms about using their innocent son in their scam by exploiting people's kindness!'
Miss Lee and her colleague, Miss Jean Ng, 30, a nurse, told The New Paper over the phone that the couple had approached them when they were out for lunch. The couple said they needed to send their baby to the hospital.
Miss Lee gave them $5, while Miss Ng gave $20.
The wife even asked for one of their handphone numbers so that she could return the money, said MissNg.
But they never called. When they spotted the couple again two weeks ago, Miss Lee took pictures of them and sent them to Stomp.
After the couple's pictures were posted on Stomp, several netizens posted accounts of how they were tricked by the couple.
It seems the couple also approached people in Serangoon, Bishan and Hougang with the same story.
A netizen said on the Stomp forum: 'They are just too lazy to work and use their kid as an excuse.'
Miss Lee agreed: 'The baby looked so thin and weak. We gave the couple the money thinking that it would help him. But I don't know what they did with the money in the end.'
Madam Rosie Lin, 63, a retiree who lives in Block 543 in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10, believes that the couple live nearby as they often while away the hours at the playground near her block.
She said: 'They have never approached me for money, but they quarrel sometimes. They are so loud that I can hear them from the sixth floor where I live.
'It's sad. They are a young couple. They should get a job instead of begging like this.'
Couple using toddler as donation bait?
They beg, then they laugh
Ang Mo Kio residents say pair jeers at those who refuse them money
By Elysa Chen
August 02, 2009
OTHER PLACES: The family has also been spotted in Serangoon, Bishan and Hougang telling the same story. --PICTURE: STOMP --
THE boy, barely 2 years old, looks thin and sickly. His parents approach passers-by with a desperate plea: 'Can you give us some money? We need to take our child to the hospital.'
But residents in Ang Mo Kio Ave 10, where the man, woman and toddler are often spotted, are cautioning others not to part with their money so easily.
They believe that the couple, who are in their 20s, are using their son as bait to get money.
Miss Yan Lan Hua, 20, a factory worker from China, gave the couple $10 after they claimed that they left their bag in a taxi and needed money to take their child to the hospital.
She said: 'They had tattoos on their arms. I gave them money because the boy looked skinny and sickly.'
However, she believes that she was cheated because when she turned around, she saw the husband laughing with his wife.
Miss Yan, who earns about $600 to $700 a month, was so angry that she wanted to confront the couple, but then changed her mind.
She said: 'I'll just treat it as a lesson, and never give money to such people again. If I ever see them again, I will call the police.'
Her flatmate also had the same experience with the couple a few days earlier, said Miss Yan.
A provision shop owner at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10, who wanted to be known only as Mr Ting, said the couple are familiar faces in the area.
However, he has not seen them in the area for the past two weeks.
He recounted an incident when the couple fought outside his shop because the man refused to give his wife money to buy biscuits.
He said: 'They always look like they are in a daze. They don't smell of alcohol, yet they look drunk.'
He said the couple usually approached middle-aged women, asking first for small amounts like $4 or $5, but when their victims took out their wallets, they would ask for more.
Some residents and workers in the area have complained about the couple on Stomp, The Straits Times interactive Internet portal.
Miss Liz Lee, 30, an accounts assistant who works in Ang Mo Kio, posted pictures of the couple, cautioning others not to fall for the couple's 'plight'.
In her post, Miss Lee said: 'This couple got caught in the act when five victims from three separate incidents spoke to their colleagues and discovered that they all had been cheated of their money by the same people.'
Taxi fare
She said that besides asking for taxi fare, they would also try to get extra money for the child's medical treatment.
The couple would also make 'jeering' faces at those who did not give them money, she said.
'Please note and guard yourself against these callous people who have no qualms about using their innocent son in their scam by exploiting people's kindness!'
Miss Lee and her colleague, Miss Jean Ng, 30, a nurse, told The New Paper over the phone that the couple had approached them when they were out for lunch. The couple said they needed to send their baby to the hospital.
Miss Lee gave them $5, while Miss Ng gave $20.
The wife even asked for one of their handphone numbers so that she could return the money, said MissNg.
But they never called. When they spotted the couple again two weeks ago, Miss Lee took pictures of them and sent them to Stomp.
After the couple's pictures were posted on Stomp, several netizens posted accounts of how they were tricked by the couple.
It seems the couple also approached people in Serangoon, Bishan and Hougang with the same story.
A netizen said on the Stomp forum: 'They are just too lazy to work and use their kid as an excuse.'
Miss Lee agreed: 'The baby looked so thin and weak. We gave the couple the money thinking that it would help him. But I don't know what they did with the money in the end.'
Madam Rosie Lin, 63, a retiree who lives in Block 543 in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10, believes that the couple live nearby as they often while away the hours at the playground near her block.
She said: 'They have never approached me for money, but they quarrel sometimes. They are so loud that I can hear them from the sixth floor where I live.
'It's sad. They are a young couple. They should get a job instead of begging like this.'
