Man in black dress spotted selling 12 tissue packs for $15 in Yishun and other areas
A man clad in a black dress has been spotted selling packs of tissue paper in Yishun, Marsiling, and Woodlands, as netizens say he has also been following people around and asking for money.
TikTok user @nrrindahadryana shared a video of her encounter with the man on Dec 8, where he can be seen wearing a strapless black dress and holding multiple packets of tissue paper.
In the comments, the user said that she met the man at around 6pm while on her way to Northpoint City. He had approached her and said he was selling 12 tissue packs for $15.
'I felt uncomfortable': Tiktoker
"I told him I didn't have cash, then he said that we sit [sic] somewhere to talk, saying he and his grandmother hadn't eaten for days," she wrote.
She added that even as she distanced herself from the man, he asked whether he looked pretty. She then called out to three passers-by for help and walked away.
Under the Street Hawking Scheme, licensed street hawkers are allowed to sell goods like tissue paper at fixed locations in public spaces, and are required to pay a license fee of $10 a month.
Multiple sightings reported in the comments
The post has garnered over 311,200 views and 26,900 likes, with commenters reporting similar encounters with the man in Woodlands, Marsiling, and Choa Chu Kang.
Chloe Low, a 20-year-old beautician, told Stomp she had met the same person near her HDB block in Woodlands on Nov 28.
She said the man had pressured her to give him $20, claiming he needed money to feed his eight siblings. He also followed her around and showed up at her block the next day. "I did not go back home for a few days because I was scared he will be there waiting for me," she added.
Other users reported spotting the man on the MRT, with one citing an encounter with him in 2014.
Some commenters sympathetic
Some netizens sympathised with the man, with one urging others to "just let him be", suggesting that he might not have anything else to wear.
"He is not a menace, just misunderstood," another said.
Stomp has reached out to the police for comment.
