'Sketchy.' British tourists see strange transaction in Singapore, wonder what's up
SINGAPORE: On their visit to Singapore, a couple from the United Kingdom filmed something they found dodgy and sketchy, documenting the incident in an Instagram video that’s gone viral.
Travel bloggers Ryan and Katie (@rkbackpacking) asked viewers to explain what they witnessed right in front of them as they were walking on Jalan Besar, as it certainly left them perplexed.
“Something’s happening,” Ryan can be heard saying. “What was that?”
He went on to explain that they had just seen “some Asian lady” walking up to “an Indian man,” and then surreptitiously handing him some cash.
“He walked ahead real shifty-like, palmed it to his mate, and then his mate pulled open a bin, and then pulled out a little red plastic bag of something,” Ryan added.
“That was weird,” Katie said, to which her partner agreed.
Curious, Ryan wondered if they should ask what it was all about, adding that the men and the woman just walked away.
The couple even asked each other if they had just witnessed a drug deal, and Katie very quickly said, “Surely not,” shaking her head, but continuing to look bothered.
Ryan added that it was indeed “something sketchy.”
When he walked past the bin to see what was inside, he got some “extremely dirty looks,” though he did not say from whom.
He repeated, “Something shifty’s going on here in Singapore. Can someone please tell me what it is? I’m so curious.”
The video has since gotten over 312,000 views and over 400 comments, with many Instagram users telling the couple it would be better to keep their noses out of other people’s business.
A few confessed that they felt as much in the dark as Ryan and Katie did.
“I’m Singaporean, and even I am confused,” a commenter wrote.
Some, however, endeavoured to explain that what most likely happened is that the woman had bought contraband items in plain sight.
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“The lady bought smuggled cigarettes. Because it is expensive to buy cigarettes from legal stores due to high taxes imposed on cigarettes, smokers resort to buying these from illegal vendors, which is 60 per cent cheaper. These activities are prevalent in places like Geylang and Little India,” one wrote.
“1. The Handshake/Payment: Buyer pays the seller or a lookout at one location. 2. The Retrieval: Buyer is then directed to a nearby, pre-staged public fixture—such as a trash bin, utility box—to retrieve the smuggled or counterfeit cigarettes, vapes, pods. Welcome to SG underground, mate,” added another. /TISG