S'porean singer claims Chinese tour guide forced group to spend S$19,226, yelled at them for not spending enough

Singaporean singer Shawn Tok says he was a victim of a tour scam while on holiday in Chengdu, China.

He detailed his experience in a series of Instagram stories on Nov. 27.

According to Tok, who was the winner of local singing competition Campus SuperStar in 2007, he and his tour group were forced to make exorbitant purchases amounting to about S$20,000, deprived of sleep on the nine-day, eight-night tour and prevented from backing out of the trip midway.

They eventually turned to the local police for help and received a full refund.

Exorbitant spending

Recounting the harrowing experience on Instagram, Tok, 31, said that the group of 23 tourists were forced by their guide to purchase jade, silverware, combs and Chinese herbal medicine.

He also allegedly attempted to sell ordinary beef cubes for a disproportionate S$30 per pack, prevented tourists from leaving stores until they reached sales targets and yelled at and acted passive aggressively towards those who refused to comply.

The group's total spending of 105,000 RMB (S$19,226) "still wasn't enough", Tok said.

They were subsequently punished by being forced to unload their own luggage at their destination, even though children, seniors and people with disabilities were on the tour.

Prevented from leaving

Tok also alleged that the group was prevented from sleeping during six- to seven-hour bus rides while the guide pitched his sales.

They were also made to wake at 5:30am each day, resulting in 16 of the 23 members opting to temporarily rest for days five and six due to exhaustion.

However, their request to rest was aggressively denied by the guide, who instead threatened to cancel the entire tour without offering a refund.

They also allegedly told members who had fallen sick to "puke in the car".

Turned to police

According to screenshots of the travel contract posted by Tok, there were no mandatory consumption clauses, and visiting shopping destinations not included is considered illegal under local laws.

The issue eventually came to light when members of the tour group turned to Xiaohongshu for help.

They were advised by netizens to report the matter to the police and call 12315, a consumer dispute resolution helpline.

The tour group was called down to the police station and forced to give a full refund despite initially denying their actions, Tok said.

He lauded the Chinese authorities for being "very protective towards tourists" and urged other travellers to keep receipts of their purchases if in similar situations.

"Just be smart and get a private driver," he said, reflecting on the incident.

Top images via Shawn Tok/Instagram