Kids told not to follow clowns loitering outside primary schools; Tan Chuan-Jin urges firm to stop ‘viral marketing nonsense’

SINGAPORE – Parents with children attending Tao Nan School were informed that people dressed as clowns have been seen loitering outside the school.

The school said that the individuals, who were spotted near other primary schools, had requested children to follow them, Tao Nan School’s principal Poh Qinyu said in a letter to parents seen by The Straits Times.

She urged parents to inform their children not to be lured by any strangers and to notify the school and the police immediately if any suspicious characters are seen near the school premises.

The clowns have been reportedly spotted in several locations, such as Katong and Tampines, as seen in social media posts in the past week.

Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin uploaded a photo of one of the individuals, who was dressed as a clown and seen in Bedok South, in a Facebook post on Monday.

He said: “Whoever is doing what I assume to be some viral marketing nonsense, stop it!

“I trust the police are investigating this. It’s not amusing and just plain dangerous.”

ST has contacted the police for comment.