SINGAPORE: A 25-year-old woman took to social media to share how uncomfortable she’s been ever since a male colleague started giving her unwanted gifts and attention.

Posting on Reddit’s ‘Ask Singapore’ forum on Wednesday (March 12), she explained that it all started on Valentine’s Day when the colleague, apparently in his mid-30s, silently approached her from behind and placed a heart-shaped box of chocolates and snacks on her desk before walking away without a word.

A week later, he showed up at her desk again, this time handing her some fruit before casually asking her to scan a QR code to exchange WhatsApp contacts.

“I felt uncomfortable as I already had a bf. He has been putting food on my desk every week. He would message me calling me ‘美女’, apologised for his ‘bad English’ and asked if he was disturbing me,” she said. “I said no and tried to casually mention my boyfriend in the conversation because he gave me chocolates on Valentine’s Day, and I didn’t want him to get any ideas.”

The woman added that even though she kept her responses polite but distant, her male colleague continued to “send long messages”, ask about her daily activities, and invite her out. At one point, he even mentioned wanting to take her around China to try different cuisines.

“I would give short replies and he would reply with 10 messages. He would ask me what I’m doing and if I liked the food at work,” she continued. “In all his replies, he would say that he is very happy that I replied to him and try to seek reassurance that he is not bothering me.”

Recently, however, the situation became more worrying. He began commenting on her appearance, telling her that she was very pretty and had nice skin.

“It really weirded me out,” she said. “His behaviour is making me very uneasy, and even my colleagues found his actions weird. I’m worried about future work interactions. How do I handle this situation without creating major conflict? Any chance it is a cultural difference?” she asked at the end of her post.

“You need to be very direct with someone like that”

In the discussion thread, many advised the woman to ignore any messages unrelated to work and keep all interactions strictly professional. They warned that engaging in small talk might only encourage her colleague to persist in his advances.

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