SINGAPORE – Swifties have been hoping for Taylor Swift sightings around Singapore while she is in town for her The Eras Tour, which kicked off at the National Stadium on March 2 and ends on March 9.

And one man actually ended up having a close encounter with the 34-year-old American superstar at Koma Singapore in Marina Bay Sands.

Mr Sho Takei, 31, was at the same upscale Japanese restaurant on the evening of Feb 28 when he spotted Swift, who had her curly blonde hair in an updo and was wearing a dark-coloured strapless dress, dining with her entourage as he was heading towards the bathroom.

Later on, Mr Takei, co-founder of a Japan-based international tech recruitment firm HYRE and former contestant of reality show The Apprentice: One Championship Edition Season 1 (2021), noticed Swift get up from her seat as she prepared to leave the restaurant. He then decided to take a video of her from his table.

One of Swift’s security personnel spotted him doing so and waved at him to stop recording, before shining a torch in his direction.

When the video was reposted on TikTok on March 5 without Mr Takei’s knowledge and went viral, some netizens questioned the bodyguard’s behaviour, but most praised him for doing his job. Some also commented that Swift should be given privacy despite being in a public venue, and that she should not be harassed.

With three shows out of her six sell-out concerts completed, the pop singer, who arrived in Singapore on Feb 27, is enjoying a two-day break before the gigs continue on March 7.

After leaving Singapore, she will take a three-month hiatus from the world tour before heading to Paris, France, in May for the Europe leg.

Correction note: In an earlier version of the story, we said that the video was shared by TikTok user Gary. This is incorrect. The video was filmed by Mr Sho Takei. We are sorry for the error.