Singaporean grocery workers behaving badly

Is this an awful 2-for-1 sale?

In a report from TODAY, a temporary worker from Cold Storage on Rail Mall branch on Upper Bukit Timah Road was suspended on April 27 pending an investgation into some unauthorized photos he allegedly uploaded in a WhatsApp group.

A set of photos circulated online of women waiting in line for a temperature scan, with the implication that these were taken without their permission. A WhatsApp user with the name “Yixian” uploaded these photos onto a WhatsApp group, then allegedly offered to give certain members of the chat group the women’s phone numbers.

Other photographs showed women going about the previously-unnamed grocery, with shots from different angles. Some of the angles showed the women’s faces, while others showed their legs and back.

What did the photos look like?

Included in some of the photos and messages were photos of the women with phone numbers attached.

One of the people in the chat group pointed out that one of the women in line noticed that the suspect was taking photos. But he unabashedly even offered up her alleged phone number.

The suspect also posted other details about the women, such as this photo that mentioned the woman drove an Audi.

Some photos also mentioned that the suspect was taking photos throughout the whole grocery store, and not just at the temperature scanning area.

Yixian suspended from Cold Storage

According to the same report from TODAY, “a spokesperson for retail group Dairy Farm, which manages the Cold Storage chain of supermarkets, told TODAY that the man was removed from his post on Wednesday (April 29) immediately after it learnt of his behaviour.”

A police report has been lodged, and the man involved in taking the photos has been interviewed.

According to Dairy Farm, the man was only a temporary staffer brought on to help with the increased demands at the grocery store.

In light of the practice of temperature scanning all over the island, the management of Dairy Farm said, “We have also reminded all our temporary staff at our stores currently manning our temperature (screening) and contact tracing stations that such behaviour will be dealt with quickly, and where necessary, with legal action.” 

Perverts find a way

While the practice of peeping on others has definitively been stopped thanks to the Circuit Breaker, months of reports from women all over the island featured men preying on them through the use of mobile phones.

But it seems with a new normal comes new ways and opportunities to take illicit photos. Even if the photos were simply of women’s faces, the fact that a Singaporean man thought that it was all right to take photos without women’s permission is still a prevailing norm.

Bad behaviour from FairPrice grocery workers

Just two days after the police report against Yixian was filed, two more grocery workers have been suspended and reported to the police for errant behaviour at temperature checks before entry.

According to another report from TODAY, the temperature screeners were playing a prank on the customers, allegedly shining a flashlight on the entering csutomers’ arms, a practice that night clubs usually employ at their entrance checks.

The report said, “The video, filmed by a female part-time staff member, also showed the man interacting with customers with his surgical mask hanging from his ear. He also touched the arms of patrons, some of whom were seen raising their arms for the checks. The duo were also shown laughing at a patron.”

The video also showed that the checker was not wearing his face mask properly.

FairPrice reiterated their first statement on the gross misconduct of their workers. They said that they would continue to protect the safety and wellbeing of their patrons at their stores and take action against anyone who acts unprofessionally or breaches protocols.