Police report filed against Cold Storage temperature screener who allegedly posted photos of female shoppers to WhatsApp group
The man allegedly posted photos of women shopping or queuing to have their temperature checked in a Cold Storage supermarket at The Rail Mall.
SINGAPORE — A police report has been filed against a temporary worker at Cold Storage’s Rail Mall branch on Upper Bukit Timah Road, after he allegedly took pictures of women in the supermarket and posted them to a WhatsApp group.
A spokesperson for retail group Dairy Farm, which manages the Cold Storage chain of supermarkets, told TODAY that the man was removed from his post on Wednesday (April 29) immediately after it learnt of his behaviour.
“We have also reported this matter to the police who will investigate further,” the spokesperson said.
Police confirmed that a report was lodged and that they were looking into the matter.
The man, who goes by the username Yixian, allegedly posted photos of the women to a WhatsApp group named G.R.O.C. They appear to show the women shopping in the supermarket or queuing to have their temperature checked. It is unclear when he took the photos.
The man also allegedly offered to share the phone number of one of the women with the group. Screenshots of his messages were posted on the online forum HardwareZone on Wednesday.
The Dairy Farm spokesperson said the man was a temporary staff member brought in last week through an employment agency to boost its manpower needed for temperature screening and contact tracing during the Covid-19 outbreak.
The man did not respond to TODAY’s request for comment.
Dairy Farm’s spokesperson gave the assurance that the group takes the privacy and safety of its customers very seriously, and will not tolerate such behaviour.
“We have also reminded all our temporary staff at our stores currently manning our temperature (screening) and contact tracing stations that such behaviour will be dealt with quickly, and where necessary, with legal action.”
