'Looking for someone to BTO with me': Man pastes notices in public, sparks debate online

Do Singaporeans only get married for housing?

Well, one 27-year-old man living in Woodlands certainly seems to be furthering that notion.

Several notices popped up around the area earlier this month (Sept 1) stating: "Hi, I'm looking for someone to BTO with me" with the criteria that applicants need to be "friendly and easy-going" and women between the ages of 21 to 35.

It also provided the number of a man going by Don Huang, who told Shin Min Daily News that he had put up 18 of these notices on walls and pillars around Woodlands MRT station and nearby malls.

Huang, 27, told Shin Min that he had been in a relationship around two years ago, which didn't work out. Since then he's been unsuccessful on dating apps and said that the women around him are all attached.

"It's really hard to find a girlfriend in Singapore, and dating apps are expensive, most of them require a payment," Huang, a store manager of reportedly medium build, claimed.

Huang is also interested in the upcoming Woodlands BTO flats to be released in October, and wants to find a girlfriend before then.

Notices removed

Shin Min reported that most of Huang's notices have been taken down. There have also been heated debates online about him trying to find a girlfriend just to get a BTO flat.

"Can like that meh? Marriage of convenience is a crime," one user on the Hardware Zone forum questioned.

Others suggested it would be difficult to prove whether two Singaporeans got married just for an HDB flat, while someone suggested that Huang could be the first one to be reprimanded "for posting self-incriminating evidence".

Huang told Shin Min that he won't be "posting random notices" anymore after a friend told him it may not be legal.

"But I was just anxious to find a girlfriend who also wants to get married and buy a house as soon as possible."

However, he told the Chinese Daily that he had received seven calls or messages from women since Sept 4. He chatted with one woman on the phone until she needed to hang up, while another invited him out for a meal later that week.

Huang is nevertheless wary of prank calls and scammers.

ALSO READ: Location, affordability, wait times: Singaporeans discuss their biggest housing concerns, balancing their needs and wants

drimac@asiaone.com