Weird people and the MRT

Smiling is harmless. Or so i used to think.

I was reading the back of a newspaper that this guy in his 30s was holding up and reading himself. Then he saw me reading his newspaper. Caught red-handed (or more like red-eyed), i felt quite embarrassed.

So when he gave me a smile, i was surprised that he actually wasn't annoyed. Thinking that he was a very nice Singaporean, i smiled back. And how wrong it proved to be.

That guy swiftly moved opposite me by the train door when another commuter initially facing me got off. Smiling at me again, he leaned forward and asked whether i am from Indonesia (of all places!). I said no, and being the friendly person that i am, gave a tight smile. Then he continued: "You have a nice smile."

After that, he started asking me where i was going, what i was working as, in which newspaper. And he asked for my namecard, which of course i said i don't have. He then tried to ask for my contact no. When i said no, he asked if he could leave his contact number with me. For a moment i actually pondered about it, considering how important as it is to have a wide network of contacts in my job.

Then i came to my senses, and said no. The next ten minutes on the train was spent wishing my stop would come earlier.

Friends have told me subsequently that in Singapore, no one smiles at strangers. "Next time someone smiles at you, glare back," Jas said.

So well, that's Weird Guy #1 for you.

The next day, while trying to grab some parent with young kids to interview at the mrt station, i saw Weird Guy #2.

Tall and lanky with an awkward slouch, he was talking to a secondary school boy in an over-friendly manner, very much like Weird Guy #1.

"Hey you're that boy i saw that time...you were only this tall then, now you've grown so much!" he told the boy. He then asked where the boy was staying, saying "i stay in the condo just behind XXX. You can drop by for a swim any time you want."

Bells were ringing off my head when he said that. Could he be a paedophile?

The boy looked kind of clueless during the whole conversation. And he gave his phone number when requested, which was rather worrying, i must say.

Well, i don't know what happened in the end, as a train came and i decided to focus on hunting down those young parents. But what i do know is, i won't be smiling at male strangers anymore in future!