‘Is this some scam?’ Foreigner shocked as mystery child appears in his Singpass family tab

SINGAPORE: A foreigner in Singapore was shocked when he discovered a random 15-year-old child mysteriously listed under his family tab in the Singpass app.

Alarmed by the bizarre situation, he turned to Reddit’s “Ask Singapore” forum on Sunday (Feb 9) to seek advice from fellow users. In his post, he explained that the teenager was someone he had never met or heard of. “He is of a different race and was apparently born a Singapore citizen. We are Caucasian and don’t even have PR, haha,” he wrote.

The foreigner shared that the app did not notify or alert him about a child being assigned to him, and the child’s name didn’t appear in his spouse’s Singpass.

“Should I panic? … is this some scam? Will it be held against me? HOW CAN THIS EVEN HAPPEN!? Anyone has discovered extra children in their Singpass? Was it easy to clear up?” he asked the community.

The internet reacts: Congratulations on your new child!

Many Singaporean Reddit users were thoroughly amused by the foreigner’s post, and several responded with clever remarks. “He should reach your house any time now,” one user quipped. 

Another joked, “SG Gov: ‘Here is your complimentary child. Take care of him for now, [and] he shall be returned to us at 18 for National Service.’”

“This reminds me of… cat distribution system,” a third user said. “Congratulations on your new child!!” a fourth chimed in. 

Amidst the jokes and banter, some Redditors offered practical advice, recommending that he contact Singpass support or the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to sort out the issue. One user shared, “Probably dont need to panic, but just write to Singpass and/or ICA to clarify and have him removed from the household.

“My family had a similar issue — a letter (CDC voucher letter) addressed to all household members had a random person’s name there. Mind you, we’ve been living in the same place for 30 years. My mum said it was the previous owner’s son (prev owners emigrated supposedly) so she wrote to ICA to have him removed.”

There is no update on whether the accidental “parent” has managed to clear things up. But one thing is certain: His unexpected Singpass surprise gave Singaporeans a good laugh and made a few people double-check their family tabs.

“This post inspired me to check mine. Thank God I’m still single. No govt-distributed spouse yet,” one user commented.

In other news, a woman took to social media to express her frustration over her parents’ high expectations for her boyfriend.

Posting on Reddit’s ‘Ask Singapore’ forum, she revealed that her parents have been adamant that her boyfriend should fully finance their Build-To-Order (BTO) flat.

“My s/o (significant other) has brought up the topic of BTO with me multiple times because we are in a steady relationship and we are not young either, so with the crazy 5 years waiting time for BTO, of course, we want to start balloting early—a fair and smart move,” she wrote. 

Read more: ‘Do I move out?’ — Daughter asks after her parents expect her boyfriend to fully finance BTO, buy a car, and give S$1 million cash gift

Featured image by freepik (for illustration purposes only)