Man allegedly begs for money on train, woman tells him to 'start earning his own'

He may have asked her for money but she decided to give him a dose of life advice instead.

A man who was allegedly begging for money on board an MRT train on Dec 13 received a scolding from a passenger.

A video posted to TikTok on Dec 15 shows a man getting an earful from a woman.

"The guy in blue has been walking around asking people for cash," said TikTok user Adorablyxevil, who uploaded the video.

"An auntie did give him $10 but he still continued to ask around. He won't stop asking even if you say no."

The woman in the video didn't give the man cash as she decided to confront him instead.

In response, the man can be heard telling the woman that she should not "be kaypoh" (a busybody).

"I don't care about kaypoh or not… that is not the way! If you're not happy, you can get out!" She said as she pointed at the train doors.

"You'd better start earning money yourself, not asking people for money," she added.

According to her, the man had asked multiple train passengers for money, going from carriage to carriage seeking his targets.

"Is this what you're doing every day?" She questioned, also threatening to call the police. "Start earning your own money!"

'I felt scared': Passenger

Speaking with AsiaOne, Adorablyxevil, who declined to give her name, shared that the man had boarded the Thomson-East Coast Line train at Orchard station.

He alighted at Napier station after facing the woman's wrath.

"I was initially okay with him asking (for money) as it could have been an emergency," she said. "But I noticed that even after the person said no, he'd continue to ask for a while before moving on to the next person.

"I felt scared because I don't know how to say no," she explained.

When Adorablyxevil saw the woman confront the man, she was amazed.

"(The woman) was very brave, I didn't expect her to do so," she said, adding that the woman "did what no one else dared to do".

"She literally put herself in danger as she could have been hurt if the guy decided to get physical."

Begging in public prohibited

No one, while in railway premises, is allowed to tout or solicit alms, rewards or employment of any description without the written permission of the Land Transport Authority (LTA) or its licensee, state the Rapid Transit Systems Regulations.

Any LTA employee or its licensee can remove any person from the railway premises whom he reasonably suspects of committing or attempting to commit any breach of these regulations.

Under the Destitute Persons Act, any person being a habitual beggar found begging in a public place in a way that causes an annoyance or a nuisance may be fined up to $3,000 or imprisoned for up to two years.

A habitual beggar is a person who on at least two previous occasions was required to reside in a welfare home after he or she was found begging in a public place and causing an annoyance.

[[nid:667356]]

khooyihang@asiaone.com