PUBLISHED ONNovember 05, 2024 1:10 AMByKhoo Yi-HangSelling tissues may already be a taxing job to do, but things may have gotten even tougher for some of these vendors.
Some local tissue sellers at Bedok Food Centre under Block 216 are claiming that foreigners from China have been stealing their customers, 8world reported on Monday (Nov 4).
A local tissue seller surnamed Chen (transliteration) told the Chinese publication that she was wheelchair-bound after suffering a stroke years ago and has been relying on selling tissues at the food centre to make a living.
"They come every day to steal my business, which has really impacted people like me who make a living through selling tissues," she said.
Believing these peddlers to be unlicensed, she added that they also operate in nearby food centres and coffee shops.
Chen said she hopes that the authorities would be able to step up enforcement to protect legal tissue sellers in Singapore.
In a Facebook post on Complaint Singapore last Monday (Oct 28), user Lee Cheokcheng questioned if it was legal for foreigners to sell tissues at food centres.
"There are three aunties from China selling tissues at this area daily," he wrote.
In a photograph shared by Lee, an elderly woman holding a green reusable bag can be seen approaching diners at Block 216 Bedok Food Centre.
Her palms pressed together while holding a pack of tissues, the elderly woman is visibly hunched over, possibly pleading diners for them to purchase tissues from her.
Lee's experience may not be a singular one - 8world also reported similar behaviour from other allegedly unlicensed peddlers in the area.
These vendors would even tear up and say 'please help me' with a trembling voice, 8world reported.
While most would still refuse to purchase from the vendors, some would pay $1 or $2 out of sympathy.
"I felt a little helpless and uncomfortable, but I couldn't bear to refuse," a diner, who declined to be named, told 8world.
In a written response to a Parliamentary question on licensed and unlicensed tissue sellers by Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Leong Mun Wai in February 2024, Minister for Sustainability and Environment Grace Fu shared that there were 28 licensed tissue sellers in Singapore as of end-2023.
"We do not track the number of unlicensed tissue sellers," she added then.
Under the Street Hawking Scheme, it is illegal for vendors to go around hawking without a license that costs $10 per month.
Once licensed, vendors will only be allowed to operate within fixed locations so as to not adversely affect residents in the vicinity.
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khooyihang@asiaone.com
