Singapore – The crashing pound sent people flocking to money changers to exploit a favourable exchange rate in Singapore on Friday after the currency plummeted following Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.

People looking for holidays and those with children studying in Britain joined long lines at Change Alley, a mall in the city-state’s business district known for its concentration of money changers, after the pound reached historic lows against the Singapore dollar.

The pound also briefly dived to a 31-year low against the US dollar.

“I’m hoping that I can get a favourable rate so I’ll save a few thousand dollars on my daughter’s school fees,” said Thomas Lee, who was among dozens in line at Raffles Money Changer.

The company executive, whose daughter is attending university in Britain, had S$5,000 in cash, which he hoped would get him at least 2,600 pounds.

“In the last year, I’ve lost a few thousand dollars just on the exchange rate alone, but hopefully with the pound so low now, it’ll even out,” Lee told AFP.

Joseph Rozario, 60, who is going on holiday to Britain next month, said he was planning to buy about 1,000 pounds initially.

“I’ll need about 3,000 pounds in total but I’m changing it in small amounts to speculate, so hopefully I might be able to save a few dollars,” he said.

“I think the market will correct itself and what we’ve seen today is a knee-jerk reaction.” But the sudden plunge in the British currency caught money changers off guard, with several putting up “out of stock signs” for the pound.

“My cost price was S$1.97 a pound, I obviously can’t sell for anything lower than that, because I’m going to make a loss so I’d rather say I’m out of stock,” said money changer Mohamad Rafeeq.

“The next few years will be uncertain ones for Britain and Europe. Leaving the EU is as complicated as joining it,” Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a Facebook post.

Separately, the website of Britain-based online retailer ASOS, which is highly popular among young Singaporeans, crashed after increased shopper traffic triggered by the weak pound.

He was shocked when he got to the carpark yesterday morning and saw that two of his cars had been splashed with bright red paint.

The car rental company owner, who wanted to be known only as Mr Long, 22, said he was walking towards his car when he saw the damage.

His own car and one of his three rental cars had been vandalised at his HDB block’s carpark at Tampines Avenue 7.

The bonnet and windscreen were covered in red paint with a note left under the front wiper.

On it was a name, a unit number and O$P$ (which is short for Owe Money, Pay Money).

But it was not his name or his unit number. Mr Long said: “I told myself to stay calm.”

He immediately called the police to make a report and then called The New Paper hotline.

Mr Long, who only set up his rental company in March, sent both cars to the workshop yesterday.

He said: “The longer I take to clean up the cars, the more clients I will have to push away and more money will be lost.”

On seeing the note, the TNP team visited the sixth floor of the block, looking for the man named in the note.

Neighbours said the flat had also been given the red paint treatment last Friday.

At the unit mentioned in the note, faint red stains on the gate and floor were the most noticeable signs of the recent vandalism.

The front door had been painted with a fresh coat of white to hide the damage.

REPORTED

A woman in the unit said: “It has already been reported to the police, and we have been told that it is a scam.

“We do not owe anyone money and if we were to just pay up, it would be a waste of our money.

“I do not wish to antagonise anyone, and I have been advised to avoid speaking to the public about this,” she said.

The incident has frightened the residents on the floor, but they are confident of sticking together.

Said a neighbour, who did not wish to be named:”The entire floor is worried, but we must stand together and help each other.”

Police said they received calls over both incidents.

There has also in-car camera footage of the incident.

It has been established that it was a case of unlicensed money lending harassment, they added.

Investigations are ongoing.

If found guilty, first-time offenders who are acting on behalf of an unlicensed moneylender, committing or attempting to commit any acts of harassment can be jailed up to five years, fined between $5,000 and $50,000, and caned between three and six strokes.

mgovin@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on June 24, 2016.
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