PUBLISHED ONMarch 11, 2026 6:26 AMBYKhoo Yi-HangMany might not have noticed or could have chosen to turn a blind eye if they did, but this man acted to keep a child safe.
In a Facebook post on March 9, property agent Francis Michael wrote about seeing a stranger offer money to a child and a helper asking the child to kiss him at Lucky Plaza. He ended up filing a police report over the matter.
The 56-year-old shared that the incident happened while he was having his lunch in the basement of the mall at around 2.45pm on March 8.
In the same coffee shop was a group of four to five women who appeared to be Filipino domestic workers, one of whom was with a child of about four years of age who looked African-American, Michael wrote.
A man who appeared to be local was also seated at the same table, about four seats away from the group.
According to Michael, the man allegedly took out a $5 note and waved it at the child.
"The helper told the child to take it and kiss the man, which she did, on the cheek," he alleged.
When the man repeated the act minutes later, this time with a $50 note, Michael said he put a stop to it.
"The helper again told the child to take it and kept forcing her to kiss the man, at which point I stood up and stopped it," Michael said.
Speaking with AsiaOne, Michael shared that his first reaction to what had unfolded was that of shock.
"This was wrong on so many levels," he said. "It made me watch them more closely. Then when it happened again, I did what any parent would have done."
The father of three reprimanded the woman with the child, telling her that she was supposed to care for the girl.
"I asked her if the child's father would be happy if he saw this, to which she replied, 'Yes'," he recalled.
Warning the woman that he would call the police, Michael also instructed her to call the child's father so that he could speak with him.
The woman challenged Michael to call the police if he wished, telling him that it was none of his business.
"I told her that she was in my town and when it comes to children, it is my business," Michael wrote.
Addressing the local man, Michael also stated: "I asked him what the hell was he doing, encouraging an underaged child to kiss him by offering her money."
The man defended his actions and waved a tattooed individual behind Michael over, who then told Michael to back off.
Undaunted, Michael told AsiaOne that he persisted as he needed to get his message across that what the man did was wrong.
The commotion attracted the coffee shop manager, who shared that he has security camera footage of the incident in the event of a police report.
As Michael was speaking to the manager, the local man allegedly cut in and exclaimed that he would have apologised if the child was Michael's, but she was not, and again told Michael to mind his own business.
"I told him again sternly that as long as a child is involved, I will step in, no matter what," Michael said.
After Michael was done confronting the man, however, the child and the women were nowhere to be seen.
"We promote mutual respect and tolerance to all races, ethnicities, religions and backgrounds," he wrote in his post.
"But one thing I will not tolerate, is someone abusing a child. Not in Singapore. Not on my watch."
He filed a police report the next day.
At present, Michael is still trying to locate the woman who was with the child, as well as the child's parents.
"It doesn't matter whose child it is," he told AsiaOne. "We need to protect our children from all harm. Singapore is known to be one of the safest countries in the world. Let's keep it that way."
Responding to queries from AsiaOne, the police confirmed that a report was filed and that they are looking into the matter.
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khooyihang@asiaone.com
