A number of domestic helpers have been sighted at a coffee shop with older male patrons, reportedly behaving in inappropriate ways. These women are said to be dressed scantily and engage in an intimate manner with the uncles.

This first caught the public’s attention when a man identified as Mr. Zhang informed Shin Min Daily News of the maids behaving badly after the news outfit reported on large groups of helpers and workers gathering outside Kallang station on weekends to picnic and play volleyball in the area. Shin Min also reported that some individuals were seen to behave intimately during the gatherings.

This prompted Mr. Zhang to tell the news outfit about how the helpers and uncles were behaving nearby, at a coffee shop at an HDB block on Boon Keng Road.

He told Shin Min that he observed groups of helpers spending a lot of time with elderly gentlemen drinking beer at the coffee shop during weekends.

Sometimes he would see the men groping the helpers. He also saw the uncles giving the ladies tips.

A reporter from Shin Min observed the maids and uncles for himself when he went to Boon Keng one weekend, seeing five women drinking with a group of older men. He saw the men caressing the hands and hair of the women, while the group laughed and talked. He described the women as “foreign maids” wearing “low-cut dresses,” two of whom were in “leopard prints.”

He also observed one woman bending low as she talked to an elderly patron, allowing him to see her chest. Other patrons in the coffee shop seemed to be on intimate terms with the women as well. The reporter said the women would stay the whole day, and leave early in the evening, at 7 or 8 pm.

A number of netizens commented on the news, defending the coffee shop’s patrons right to enjoy themselves on their own time. They also disagreed that the women were dressed in a sexy way, saying that others dressed similarly or in even more revealing clothing.

Ultimately, the netizens said, neither the women nor the uncles were breaking any laws. They should be allowed to have their fun, they said.