Girl, 9, allegedly offered vape on bus to Clementi bus interchange by man in his 50s or 60s

A nine-year-old girl was allegedly offered vape while on a public bus en route to Clementi bus interchange.

The incident was recounted by the girl's mother, surnamed Zhang, 8world reported.

The mother said her daughter was approached by a middle-aged man in his 50s or 60s at around 4pm on Friday, Aug. 15, while on her way to Clementi interchange.

The girl was going to attend piano lessons.

Shocked

The incident shocked her daughter, Zhang said, adding that she never thought that her daughter would be offered an e-cigarette in broad daylight while in school uniform.

Zhang said: "It's really creepy."

According to the mother, the man, who appeared to be around 50 or 60 years old, had apparently patted the girl's left shoulder and handed her a purple vape.

He then allegedly said: "Do you want it? There is nothing in it, try it."

Zhang added: "My daughter resolutely shook her head and ignored him. She also changed seats to sit closer to the bus driver. In hindsight, she should have informed the driver, but she was probably too young and too shocked."

Matter reported to authorities

Zhang said she has reported the matter to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and has also informed her daughter's school.

"I hope the relevant authorities will take this issue seriously and severely punish these people to prevent more people from being harassed, tempted, or even led astray," the mother said.

It was previously reported that two teenagers allegedly approached a Primary 4 student walking home from school and tried to get him to buy a vape on Jul. 25.

The incident allegedly happened in the afternoon near a pedestrian crossing at Dover Rise, just about a five minutes' walk away from the boy's school, Fairfield Methodist School.

The HSA's hotlines (6684 2036 and 6684 2037) for reporting e-cigarette-related violations are open from 9am to 9pm every day.

The public can also use the online form at www.go.gov.sg/reportvape to provide information.

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