Imagine checking your change and finding Yusof Ishak staring back at you with unusually wide eyes and no moustache.
That was what happened at 21 Seafood, a zi char stall in the Kovan area, after staff received a rather unusual S$10 note earlier this month.
The note was real. Someone had apparently scraped parts of the portrait printed on it.
Staff Initially Thought It Was Fake
The incident happened around lunchtime on 2 August.
Chef Zhang Xiao Hai, 42, told Lianhe Zaobao that he did not notice anything unusual when the note was first received because the stall was busy.
The oddity was discovered later when staff were preparing change for another customer.
The moustache on the portrait of Singapore’s first president, Yusof Ishak, appeared to have been scraped away. There were also numerous fine scratches around the eyelids, making the eyes appear larger and giving the portrait a rather startled expression.
Apart from the altered portrait, the note reportedly felt like an ordinary S$10 note.
That led staff to wonder whether they had somehow received a counterfeit note.
Owner Took It To Two Banks
The mystery remained unresolved until 27 August, when the stall’s owner, identified by Zaobao as Mr Guo, took the note to a neighbourhood police post.
According to Zaobao, he was advised to get the note checked by a bank first.
Mr Guo subsequently brought it to both OCBC and DBS. He told the newspaper that staff at both banks examined the note and confirmed that it was genuine.
According to his account, the bank staff said its surface appeared to have been damaged using a sharp object.
OCBC also offered to exchange the note, but Mr Guo declined.
Why?
He wants to keep the unusual S$10 note as a souvenir instead.
Damaging Singapore Currency Can Get You Fined
While the note might now be an interesting keepsake, deliberately damaging Singapore currency is not something to try at home.
Section 23 of the Currency Act 1967 makes it an offence to mutilate or destroy a currency note or coin. The law also covers printing, stamping, writing or impressing marks, words, letters or figures onto currency notes by similar means.
A person convicted of an offence under the section can be fined up to S$2,000.
There is another practical problem with damaged notes.
MAS states that under the Currency Act, mutilated notes do not automatically retain their value. MAS may award a value as an act of goodwill when there is no evidence that the note was deliberately damaged.
People who receive torn or mutilated notes can bring them to a commercial bank where they have an account. The bank can authenticate and assess the note according to MAS guidelines, or send it to MAS if it cannot make the assessment itself.
So if your S$10 suddenly looks like Yusof Ishak has just seen your latest grocery bill, perhaps do not immediately assume you have discovered a new edition of Singapore currency.
