Many might not have noticed or could have chosen to turn a blind eye if they did, but this man acted to keep a child safe.
In a Facebook post on March 9, property agent Francis Michael wrote about seeing a stranger offer money to a child and a helper asking the child to kiss him at Lucky Plaza. He ended up filing a police report over the matter.
The 56-year-old shared that the incident happened while he was having his lunch in the basement of the mall at around 2.45pm on March 8.
In the same coffee shop was a group of four to five women who appeared to be Filipino domestic workers, one of whom was with a child of about four years of age who looked African-American, Michael wrote.
A man who appeared to be local was also seated at the same table, about four seats away from the group.
According to Michael, the man allegedly took out a $5 note and waved it at the child.
“The helper told the child to take it and kiss the man, which she did, on the cheek,” he alleged.
When the man repeated the act minutes later, this time with a $50 note, Michael said he put a stop to it.
“The helper again told the child to take it and kept forcing her to kiss the man, at which point I stood up and stopped it,” Michael said.
Speaking with AsiaOne, Michael shared that his first reaction to what had unfolded was that of shock.
“This was wrong on so many levels,” he said. “It made me watch them more closely. Then when it happened again, I did what any parent would have done.”
