Zi char eatery staff receives ‘fake’ $10 note with ‘wide-eyed’ Yusof Ishak portrait: ‘It seemed to be staring straight at you’
A $10 note featuring the portrait of Singapore’s first president, Yusof Ishak, has left staff at a Hougang zi char stall baffled after his moustache appeared to have been scratched off and marks were found around his eyelids, giving the portrait a wide-eyed stare.
The altered banknote was initially thought to be counterfeit, but the stall owner took it to two banks, where both confirmed that it was genuine but had been tampered with.
The incident happened at around noon on Aug 2 at 21 Seafood, a zi char stall in Hougang.
The stall’s 42-year-old chef, Zhang Xiao Hai (transliterated), told Lianhe Zaobao that he did not notice anything unusual when he received the note, but spotted something odd when he was giving change to customers.
“Other banknotes have normal-looking eyes, but this one seemed to be staring straight at you. Its moustache was also gone, so my first reaction was that I had received a fake note,” he said.
Since he believed counterfeit notes are rare in Singapore, he glanced at the denomination when receiving it, instead of inspecting it closely.
Photos show that the moustache on the portrait of Yusof Ishak had been scraped off, with visible scratches also found around the eyelids. The portrait’s eyes also appeared considerably larger, giving it an unusually startled expression.
“Who would make this note so obviously fake? It looks more like a prank,” Zhang said.
Although staff at the zi char stall found the note suspicious, they did not pursue the matter further.
Banks confirm note is genuine
On Aug 27, the owner of the eatery, Mr Guo (transliterated), took the “fake” note to the neighbourhood police post to make a report, where he was advised to have the note authenticated by a bank.
Guo subsequently visited OCBC and DBS bank outlets that day. In both cases, bank staff took the note to the back office for examination and confirmed that it was genuine but had been scratched by a sharp object.
“OCBC staff said they could help exchange the note, but I wanted to keep it, so I declined. Staff at DBS tried to make a police report, but since the note was genuine, no report was filed,” he said.
Mr Guo said he did not know exactly how the banks determined that the note was genuine.
“The bank staff took it to the office at the back to examine it, and only brought it out later to inform me of the result,” he said.
Stall owner intends to keep note as souvenir
When Lianhe Zaobao visited the stall on Aug 28, the note’s colour, texture, and security features appeared identical to an ordinary $10 banknote. However, fine scratches were observed around the portrait’s moustache and eyelids.
Guo said with a chuckle that he had no intention of spending the note, and planned to keep it as a souvenir.
One of the staff members later posted about the incident on Xiaohongshu, sparking discussion among netizens. Many were surprised that such an altered note could still be genuine, while some even offered to buy it at a high price.
Deliberately damaging banknotes can incur $2,000 fine
According to the Currency Act, the following actions constitute offences involving the mutilation of currency notes and coins:
- Mutilation of any currency note or coin
- Causing any change in a coin so as to destroy or diminish its value
- Printing or stamping currency notes
- Defacing any coin by stamping names and words on it
Individuals found guilty of the offence can be fined up to $2,000.
An advisory by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) also states that merchants may refuse to accept mutilated notes or coins.
Notes may be defined as mutilated if they are:
- Torn
- Scorched or burnt
- Attacked by pests and insects
- Stained by ink, paint, or other chemicals
- Defaced by markings or writings of words, figures, and others
- Perforated or portions missing
See something interesting? Contribute your story to us.
