Chinese tour guide allegedly made S'pore tourists spend 2 hours in shop to meet spending quota
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December 03, 2025, 03:26 PM

While on a trip to China with his family, Singaporean singer Shawn Tok, 31, allegedly fell victim to a tour scam where group members were coerced into making purchases at various shops.

Tok, the winner of Campus SuperStar in 2007, has shed more light on how the scam came to be.


Signed up after TikTok advertisement
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, Tok shared that he and his family signed up for the nine-day Chengdu tour with a Chinese tour agency after coming across an advertisement on TikTok.

According to Tok, this was not their first time signing up for a tour online.

Previously, they went on a tour of Chongqing and had a good time.

While the tour itinerary included shopping stops, Tok said he and his family did not object, as they intended to purchase locally made goods.

A total of 23 members, including Tok's family and friends, arrived in Chengdu on Nov. 22.

Buy, or spend two hours in the shop
"Things were fine for the first two days. The tour guide did make too many shopping stops. However, from day three, when we were on the way back to Chengdu from Jiu Zhai Valley National Park, he would make multiple stops at shops selling silverware, jade jewellery, and Traditional Chinese Medicine," Tok recalled.

At the jade jewellery shop, some members did not want to alight as they were tired, but the tour guide apparently did not allow them to stay on the tour bus.

Tok's father eventually felt pressured into buying a piece of jade jewellery for 7,000 yuan (S$1,200).

When the tour guide continued refusing to let them leave, he bought another for 5,000 yuan (S$910).

When other tour members expressed disinterest and wanted to leave, the tour guide grew unhappy.

He allegedly told them that they would not be allowed to leave unless they met the spending requirement and would have to spend two hours at the shop.

His father eventually had to buy another piece of jewellery, while a friend had to buy one as well.

It was the same when the group was brought to other shops, he said.

The tour guide even promoted a bag of meat jerky at 150 to 180 yuan (S$30) per packet.

According to Tok, the group bought eight packets in total, but that did not satisfy the tour guide.

He allegedly told the group they would have to carry their own luggage if they did not buy enough.

Sensing that something was off, Tok and his friends decided to go to the police once they were back in Chengdu.

Tour agency denied coercing group to make purchases
The police contacted the tour agency, and the tour guide, along with two representatives, arrived at the station.

There, they denied having coerced the tour group into making purchases.

Tok praised the efficiency of the local authorities, adding that they settled the matter within an hour, with refunds of about S$20,000.

Threatened to cancel entire trip
Apart from pressuring the tourists to spend, the tour agencies also allegedly refused to reorganise the tour itinerary to allow for more rest time.

Tok pointed out that each day was packed with activities, starting at 5am.

They would spend over six hours on the bus, and the tour guide would be talking over the speakers the entire time.

This prevented members of the tour group from getting sufficient rest.

After being compelled to shop, some from the group wanted to take two days off to rest instead of continuing with the planned itinerary.

When they approached the tour agency to make the suggestion, the agency threatened to cancel the entire tour instead.

After the hullabaloo, the group did not continue with the agency, Tok shared.

Instead, they booked their own hotel and continued with their travels on their own.

Top image via Shin Min Daily News and Canva

https://mothership.sg/2025/12/shawn-tok-tiktok-tour-scam/

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