PUBLISHED ONJuly 10, 2026 9:54 AMUPDATED8 minutes agoBYEsther LamA simple ice cream craving led to a heartwarming encounter when a stranger stepped in to help a woman who was short of cash to pay for the treat.
The scene played out at an "old-school ice cream truck" located near Springdale Primary School in Sengkang on Thursday (July 9) at around 5pm, shared TikTok user _1000mg.
"Nowadays, you can't really find an ice cream truck under your HDB block anymore. So, it was like a rare sight to me," she said to AsiaOne.
This nurse, who only wanted to be known as Lee, said in her video that she had stopped there on her way home as she was "craving something cold after a warm and long day" and was about to order two cups of ice cream when she noticed a "cash only" sign.
After rummaging through her bag and realising she had no cash, Lee asked the ice cream seller if he accepted PayNow, but he did not.
The two cups of ice cream cost $3, she said.
Still craving the sweet treat, Lee was about to call her partner to bring some cash when another woman beside her offered to help pay first.
Lee immediately logged in to her bank app to PayNow the woman for the ice cream, but the woman left.
"She smiled, declined my offer to pay her back, and walked away while I waited for my ice cream."
Lee, after collecting her ice cream, ran after the woman to repay her, but was refused again.
"The only thing she agreed to was taking a photo with me so I could keep this memory and remind myself that there is still so much kindness in this world.
"To the kind stranger: Thank you. I'll never forget your random act of kindness, and I hope I get the chance to pay it forward," said Lee.
She shared their selfie, which shows her posing next to a young boy with a backpack and a woman dressed in dark blue, both of whom are holding their own ice creams.
"This truly made my day a little lighter," Lee expressed.
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