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Incidents re: Children in Singapore - Urban Legend?

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cbavasi
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Incidents re: Children in Singapore - Urban Legend?

Post by cbavasi » Tue, 08 Jun 2010 9:00 pm

okay so surely i'm not the only one who has seen the "Incidents re: Children in Singapore" email that is making it's rounds.... i've now received it from about 10 people... but now the original senders name has changed. first it was "selma" and now it's "tim".... i sort of chalked it up to be an urban legend until i just received an email from my son's school about it (!)

it is true - low crime doesn't mean "no crime" and i've had a word with my son... but just wondering if anyone knows if these incidents really did occur (and not just a "a friend of a friend" type thing)...

in case you haven't seen it:


"Hello all,

Just wanted to share an incident that happened today midday at the turf city taxi stand as I know many of you have kiddie activities there.

Ismael (my 6 year old son) was waiting for a taxi with my helper at midday. A pretty young lady approached him and said cheerfully "Hi am picking you up today lets go". Blank stare from my son waiting for an expalnation and my maid stays silent to observe what is unfolding.
The twenty something then offers him a soft drink. My maid steps in and says who sent you to pick him up? She replies unfazed and with a big smile: his mum is over there in the car pointing vaguely to the car park.
At that point my maid told her off and the girl swiftly ran to the car and took off.

Am a bit shaken retelling the story considering a friend (who will recognize herself in the mailing list) told me of a similar incident recently near their condo in the mount sinai area.

Anyway. Seems like these are not merely paranoid stories but these things do happen.

Please feel free to pass this on.

selma

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Post by gravida » Tue, 08 Jun 2010 9:09 pm

cbavasi, what are you trying to achieve? You have started exactly the same topic on the other expat forum and received couple of answers there.

Singapore is safe, RELATIVELY safe, comparing to other countries in the world, but for the goodness sake, it is not a paradise and EVERYONE should educate their children (and it seems also maids/helpers/babysitters) about the possibility that strangers may try to bribe them and may not have good intentions. From what I know, in most of the preschools teachers do actually have talks with kids about it.
Last edited by gravida on Tue, 08 Jun 2010 9:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by cbavasi » Tue, 08 Jun 2010 9:14 pm

excuse me?? who started what thread?? i don't visit any other forums. do you have young children who frequent turf city? i do... so back off.

(* you edited your post to add the 2nd paragraph regarding safety in Singapore after I posted this response - which is why it's disjointed.)
Last edited by cbavasi on Tue, 08 Jun 2010 10:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by gravida » Tue, 08 Jun 2010 9:16 pm

OK, sorry, that was not your nick, but the wording is quite similar.

Anyway, it does not matter if my kids are attending Turf City, or not. What I've written in the previous post applies everywhere, not only in Turf City.

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Post by cbavasi » Tue, 08 Jun 2010 9:19 pm

i'm sure it was discussed elsewhere as i'm sure most parents of young children are probably wondering the same thing - is it just an urban legend? like i said, i'd received it from a lot of people - had a word with my son about strangers...etc - and noticed the name kept changing on the original sender which made it seem odd. the fact that i rec'd it from his school makes me curious if this did happen at turf city - a place frequented by a number of young expat children. i've lived in asia for 6 years now - from when my son was 6 weeks old... i've never really worried - more so when we go back to the US or the UK... but to happen in a place we're at a couple of times a week is a bit of a shock.

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Post by Plavt » Tue, 08 Jun 2010 9:33 pm

This is clearly something started by some poor moron with nothing better to do with his/her time. The incident mentioned can and does happen in numerous cities throughout the world.

Let's just hope children know enough to avoid being taken in with strangers, they were being taught how to keep themselves safe when I was at school and that was a long time ago. :oops:

Ps: Since this appears to have happened more than once in the same place, if true, then the police should be informed so they can perhaps monitor the area.
Last edited by Plavt on Tue, 08 Jun 2010 9:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Tue, 08 Jun 2010 9:34 pm

For what it worth, "urban legend"? You gotta be kiddin'. That is nothing but common sense. Any parent who let's a child out with a minder should always have instructed the minder AND the child never to accept rides from strangers IN ANY COUNTRY!

Low crime doesn't mean NO crime. There are opportunists everywhere in the world. While it was probably started by AWARE or some other attention whore, it hold an element of truth to it. Do you honestly think that people here are different? Witness the multiple slashing of this past weekend. It could have happened at any bus stop in the country where there is a school nearby.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Post by cbavasi » Tue, 08 Jun 2010 9:57 pm

sundaymorningstaple wrote:For what it worth, "urban legend"? You gotta be kiddin'. That is nothing but common sense. Any parent who let's a child out with a minder should always have instructed the minder AND the child never to accept rides from strangers IN ANY COUNTRY!

Low crime doesn't mean NO crime. There are opportunists everywhere in the world. While it was probably started by AWARE or some other attention whore, it hold an element of truth to it. Do you honestly think that people here are different? Witness the multiple slashing of this past weekend. It could have happened at any bus stop in the country where there is a school nearby.
Okay... was my original question not succinct enough? I'm not asking for tips on teaching safety to my children... I was simply asking if anyone knew first hand of these incidents. I'm not questioning that it CAN happen... I'm blonde, but not that much of an idiot. I know there are a lot of parents with school children on this board. Funny to raise what I would think to be an interesting topic to get blindsided by someone accusing me of tagging it across boards around Singapore, followed up with a reminder in safeguarding.

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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Tue, 08 Jun 2010 10:46 pm

I would have though something like that would have been in the local birdcage liner but then again, no crime was committed so I'm not sure where you are going with it. Apparently nothing happened except maybe somebody's over active imagination? :???:
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Post by road.not.taken » Wed, 09 Jun 2010 7:53 am

gravida wrote:OK, sorry, that was not your nick, but the wording is quite similar.
The wording is 'similar' because cbavasi quoted it... :roll:

I guess no one remembers that abduction case a few years ago? Poor little girl was found dead after a few days, naked in a ditch. It definitely happens here.

Whether it's real or not, it helps to serve as a reminder to be observant and careful. However, there's not a scrap of real evidence out there. Straits Times, Channel News Asia, Google - all came up empty. I think it's a hoax.

Was anyone here for the Thanksgiving day terrorist bombing hoax at Holland Village in 2001? Spread like wild fire through text messages. Completely, 100% false.

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Post by gravida » Wed, 09 Jun 2010 9:35 am

road.not.taken wrote:
gravida wrote:OK, sorry, that was not your nick, but the wording is quite similar.
The wording is 'similar' because cbavasi quoted it... :roll:
The PP wording, not the original mail :roll: i. e., stating it could be "urban legend" etc.
Doesn't matter, I've apologized, right?

I've heard the "same" story with a girl/boy aged 5 years old etc. Even if the original situation was real, people are adding a little bit from themselves, that's how the rumors work, even when based on the truth.

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Post by QRM » Wed, 09 Jun 2010 9:50 am

I got the same message from my kids school, I had my suspicion that this was the typical spam type of message had all "A message from a friend of a friend" and "make sure you pass this on to everyone you know" red flags.

While the story sounds like BS it does have a valid point and kids/helpers should always be made aware of the potential nutters out there.

Maybe I should start one about a friend of a friend experience with a deranged Ang Mo who attacks Singaporeans for not holding doors open and waiting till the people in the lift get out. Ask all to be on a look out and send this warning to every one they know.

Seems a lot more effective than any courtesy campaign
Last edited by QRM on Wed, 09 Jun 2010 1:15 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Post by nakatago » Wed, 09 Jun 2010 9:54 am

QRM wrote:Maybe I should start one about a friend of a friend experience with deranged Ang Mo who attacks Singaporeans for not holding doors open and waiting till the people in the lift get out, and ask all to be on a look out and send this warning to every one they know.
Too late, buddy. I already received forwarded messages having the same content! Why, I even received one about someone going mental just because people on the bus crowd the front when there's plenty of space at the back! :wink:
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Post by x9200 » Wed, 09 Jun 2010 12:45 pm

There was also something in the unmentionable news paper a month or two ago about an Ang Moh actively chasing and physically attacking a local driver :-)

As for the OP case... Ppl tend to understand different things different ways or simply make up stories. The whole situation of kidnapping a child with a car in a place packed with cameras in a small and fully invigilated country like Singapore makes little sense to me unless somebody is insane.

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Post by QRM » Wed, 09 Jun 2010 1:16 pm

Must be a Swiss national

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