Times are hard and people are finding ways to make money, including reselling on Carousell the most recent free Singapore government-issued Ultra Masks to make a quick buck.

A check on Carousell on May 31 revealed multiple listings of Ultra Masks for sale by various sellers.

The price range per mask is between S$10 and S$20.

Most of the listings were put up on May 26, the first day the distribution started.

Nothing against reselling

Currently, there is no rule against reselling these masks.

All residents with a valid identification card can collect one Ultra Mask each over a three-week period for personal use or to be redistributed to others.

Those eligible for a free mask include foreign domestic workers, foreign workers not living in dormitories and international students living in hostels, but does not include foreign tourists.

According to the Ultra Masks website, the retail price of one such adult-sized reusable mask is S$9.90.

The masks are designed in Singapore but manufactured in countries such as Indonesia and Cambodia.

Kid-sized masks for children under 12 years old are also available for free.

One mask-related crime committed

So far, there has been one instance of crime committed in relation to these masks.

A 32-year-old man had fraudulently redeemed over 200 masks from vending machines at 10 Simei Street 2 between May 26 and 28.

He did so by using personal information obtained through his previous job as a manpower recruiter for a recruitment company.

His actions deprived the legitimate redeeming of masks by those whose personal information he had used.

Those who could not get their masks then reported the matter, which escalated to police conducting investigations.

His motive for redeeming hundreds of masks was not revealed.

At least three million of these masks will be given out to the majority of people residing in Singapore.

This is the third mask-giving exercise embarked by Singapore.