'Visitors can become poor': Chinese netizens debate whether Singapore is too costly to visit

BEIJING – When marketing planner Johnnie Zhu, 28, visited Singapore for a day over the New Year weekend, he blew his budget by 30 per cent on the back of higher-than-expected food and transport costs. Mr Zhu, who was in transit on his way to Mount Bromo in Indonesia's East Java, spent about 1,500 yuan (S$280) in that one day in Singapore. In Indonesia, he spent 500 to 600 yuan a day. "I found the souvenirs at the airport particularly expensive," he told The Straits Times. Mr Zhu bought three small Merlion soft toys - each the size of about…