Applications for the Temporary Relief Fund (TRF) opened at community centres (CCs) and social service offices (SSOs) around Singapore on April 1, 2020.

Several thousand people showed up to register for the funds.

The TRF specifically targets those who have lost their jobs or faced a 30 per cent loss of income due to Covid-19, and require urgent help with basic living expenses.

Eligible applicants will receive a one-off S$500 cash payout.

While the response to the TRF has been robust thus far, it has led some to question the motivation of others who are seeking help.

Two woman shamed for collecting financial aid

On April 2, one woman in Singapore took to Facebook to share a photo of two women who showed up to queue to register for the TRF.

The reason?

They had turned up while carrying branded bags and wearing accessories.

The woman who shared the photo then highlighted in the post's caption that one of the women was carrying a Louis Vuitton bag, while the other was wearing a gold watch and gold necklace.

She then asked why these women were applying for the TRF and questioned if they were "poor" or "really, really needy":

In a subsequent comment, the woman who put up the photo also added that the "real poor aint getting the help needed" because of "air stewardess n high class rich fxxk!!" and that the poor need cash to buy daily necessities like food and milk power.

The post has been shared 570 times in 10 hours, with hundreds of comments critical of the woman's attempt to shame others for asking for assistance.

Chided for assumptions and passing judgement

Most of the commenters chided the woman who put up the post for her negativity and judgmental assumptions about the two women:

Bags could be counterfeit or gifts?

While others pointed out that the bags the two women were carrying could have been fakes, or gifts from others:

Branded goods not a good indicator of wealth

Some even highlighted the fact that carrying branded bags is not a good indicator of someone's wealth:

And that if the two women were indeed air stewardesses, they rightly deserve the TRF as the aviation sector has been badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic:

Minority agreed with Tan

However, there were also a small number of commenters who took Tan's side:

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