Bakery allegedly 'scammed' by same 'SAF personnel' who ordered 150 briyani sets and went AWOL
A bakery alleged that it was "scammed" by the same "SAF personnel" who ordered 150 nasi briyani sets and went missing.
A Stomper alerted Stomp to an Instagram post by Breaditation Bakery at Desker Road on Sept 13 that an "army officer" named Gordon claiming to be from Bedok Camp had made a order worth $2,000.
"Upon the collection time, he went missing and did not answer any calls," said the post.
"We do not want the food to go to waste and we are selling them at a discount today.
"Do come by and grab your favourite pastries and bread before 9pm today.
"Kindly help us share this post to help us tide through this. All your help is deeply appreciated.
Breaditation repacked the items into $30 mystery boxes and they were sold out before 9pm.
"Once again, thank you everybody for all the help and support you've given," said the bakery in an Instagram Story.
In an earlier post, Breaditation said it found out the "army officer" was the same person who made the bulk order at the nasi briyani stall.
On Sept 9, the Tiong Bahru stall called Muhammad Shazain Faiha Muslim Food Paradise said in a Facebook post that it "was scammed with a fake order of 150 packets of chicken and mutton briyani".
Chinese media outlet 8world reported that the person who made the order claimed to be a Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) representative.
The man reportedly told the hawker that he was unable to put down a deposit for the order, as "the military is a government agency and therefore cannot provide a deposit".
But nobody arrived to collect the order.
The Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said in a Facebook post on Sept 10 that the SAF had investigated reports of the fake bulk food order.
"Based on the information provided by the complainants, we have found no evidence that these individuals are affiliated with the SAF," said Mindef.
"We take a serious view of this, and urge the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the police."
The bakery and briyani stall were not the only victims, it seems.
Someone claiming to be from the logistics team of an army camp in Bedok ordered 150 small bouquets and four extra-large bouquets amounting to $3,820 from Kiki Florist on Sept 8.
The order was too big. So the florist and buyer eventually agreed on 50 small bouquets to be paid for with $1,100 in cash and no down payment, reported The Straits Times.
But the buyer never turned up.
Kiki Florist co-founder Joselyn Lie told The Straits Times that she would not be making a police report as she "was not sure if it was a scam or just an irresponsible customer".
On Sept 14, Mindef posted on Facebook: "The SAF has observed a number of allegedly fraudulent bulk orders made by individuals claiming to be SAF personnel. The SAF takes a serious view of this.
"For the seven cases that we are aware of, we have not found any evidence that these individuals are affiliated with the SAF, and have made reports to the police on them."
