Teen boy with torn shirt 'tricks' Tampines family into buying S$8.50 ice cream for S$30 with sob story

A family in Tampines was apparently "tricked" into purchasing a box of ice cream for S$30, more than three times its online price, by a teenage boy.

The alleged scam occurred on Dec. 27 at around 7:20pm, the boy claimed that he was "selling ice cream to support his four siblings".

The ice cream seller added that his mother would berate him if he was unable to do so, and to play up his sob story, the boy purportedly kept touching his torn shirt, reported Stomp.

The family eventually relented and purchased the overpriced box of ice cream as their empathetic six-year-old son begged his father to "buy the ice cream to support the boy".

Later realised that the ice cream was only S$8.50

The family who resides in Tampines GreenGem later found an online listing that priced the ice cream at S$8.5o and had a wholesale price of S$8.00 for more than three boxes purchased.

By checking their estate group chat, the family found out that the ice cream peddling was purportedly a scam, stated Stomp.

"Six to seven boys were dispersed throughout the estate to sell ice cream. Some neighbours were visited by a different boy but got the same story."

The boys had a set routine and script, with an alleged starting selling price of S$35, lowering it based on their judgement of how sceptical the potential buyer is, stated Stomp. 

Door-to-door sale of food is illegal hawking

Food sold in such instances is a form of illegal hawking, as the goods may not meet food safety requirements stated by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) in a 2025 media response.

"Under the Environmental Public Health Act, the hawking of goods and food products in public spaces without a valid licence issued by SFA is not permitted."

Members of the public who come across any suspected illegal hawking acts should not patronise these peddlers and instead file a report via SFA's online feedback form.

Top photo from Marcus Lin/Google Maps and Canva.