Rihanna has been caught moonlighting as a tattoo artist.

The ‘Umbrella’ singer was spotted wielding a needle in a Manhattan tattoo parlour on Wednesday night. She reportedly etched umbrella designs and the letter R on three of the resident artists.

However, tattooists need a license to perform any tattooing in New York, and Rihanna could be fined almost $2,000 for the three misdemeanour offences.

A New York City Health Department Spokesperson said, "Only licensed tattoo artists can administer tattoos in the city according to the City's Health Code. We are sending someone down to follow up on this."