A police report has been made after a safe distancing ambassador (SDA) allegedly stalked a 20-year-old woman working in a shopping mall in Tampines.

The New Paper reported the accusations by the food and beverage staff who happened to cross paths with the SDA at work slightly under a year ago.

The SDA first met the woman, who works in a restaurant at Tampines 1, in November 2020, according to TNP.

He spoke to a customer on the woman's behalf about safe distancing guidelines during the initial encounter.

Told her she looked pretty

Following that, the woman claimed he told her she looked pretty, even asked about her days off, and if she was attached.

He then tried his luck and asked for her contact number and if she had an Instagram account.

He also asked if she had any pretty friends to introduce to him, the woman alleged.

Regretted giving her phone number

Due to his persistent queries, she relented a month later and gave him her number, which she regretted.

She told TNP: “It was a huge regret of mine. I should have said no or at least given him a fake number so he would stop persisting.”

Took photo of her and approached her more

The man also allegedly took a photo of the woman, and then sent it to her in the earlier part of 2021.

She told him not to take photos of her anymore.

He then allegedly started following her during her lunch breaks at work and tried to make small talk with her.

Final straw

In late April 2021, he went up to her as she was heading back to the restaurant after her toilet break.

She avoided eye contact but he rushed towards her and blocked her path.

The woman said: “He bent down so we were face to face, then said, ‘Cannot see me ah?'"

"I was so scared.”

Traumatised by this encounter, she made a police report the same day.

This was about five months after they first met.

Another incident

And it appears this is not an isolated incident.

According to TNP, in a separate incident, a 21-year-old woman said she was “catcalled” by an SDA while receiving her first vaccine dose at Chua Chu Kang Community Club in late June.

However, she did not report the incident to the authorities.

Ministry response

In response to media queries, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) said investigations are underway with Enterprise Singapore looking into the feedback regarding the alleged stalking incident.

The spokesperson said: "Our agencies will investigate feedback of inappropriate actions made against SDAs or enforcement officers."

"Appropriate action will be taken after the investigation is completed."

MSE added that members of the public can reach out to the ministry if they are unsure which agency an SDA or enforcement officer belongs to.

The feedback will be direct to the respective agencies to look into the matter.

MSE conducts training for SDAs and enforcement officers to prepare them for deployment, the spokesperson also said: “They are briefed on the safe distancing measures and safe management measures, code of conduct and rules of engagement when interacting with members of the public.”

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