If there’s one thing that Singaporeans take for granted when dining out at hawker centres, it’s the trays that we use to carry food.
Which also results in our frustration when we realise that no more trays are available for us to carry our food with after purchasing our meals.
Well, it seems like this inconvenience was too much to bear for a hawker at the Taman Jurong Food Centre, for he put up a sign warning people not to take the trays placed at his stall.
And while it doesn’t sound like a sign is capable of doing much damage, it wasn’t the case for this particular sign due to its… unkind remarks, to say the least.
Here’s what happened.
Hawker at Taman Jurong Put Up Sign Telling People to Not Take Trays at His Stall, “Cursed” Those Who Take Them
Last Friday (3 February), a Facebook user named Tan Renee uploaded several photos to the COMPLAINT SINGAPORE Facebook group to talk about the sight that she had witnessed.
According to her, she saw the sign and stacked-up trays on the second level of the food centre.
The images uploaded by Tan also showed that someone had put up a sign that said “谁拿死全家”, which translates into a “curse” that says, “The family members of whoever [takes the trays] will all die”.
She also included an image of the stall that “owned” the trays, and it seems like the stall is a drinks stall called Kopi Kaki.
In her caption, Tan expressed her anger at the choice of words used on the sign and called the person who wrote the sign out for their actions.
She also highlighted that the trays are owned by the National Environment Agency (NEA) and are “government property”.
Hawker’s Perspective: Did So After Trays Got “Stolen” by Someone Else
And if you’re wondering what exactly drove the hawker to put up such a sign, here’s why he did it.
When speaking to Shin Min Daily News, the hawker explained that he chose to put up the sign after the dozens of trays placed at his stall “disappeared”.
The hawker, who is an employee of the stall, has worked at the stall for a little over a year. He declined to be named when interviewed.
According to him, the trays at his stall were removed on three consecutive days from 31 January to 2 February this year.
Initially, he found it odd when he noticed that the trays had been removed, but he got suspicious after the same thing happened three days in a row.
He then checked the Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) footage and discovered another hawker had taken the trays away.
The hawker, who is in his 60s, also said that he only chose to put up the sign as a reminder to prevent other hawkers from helping themselves to the trays in front of his stall.
Well, that reminder sounds just like my mum’s “reminder” to get home after she realises that I haven’t reached home after 10 pm.
He added that he is the only one manning the stall and that he temporarily closes the stall at around 1 pm every day to collect the products sold at the stall before returning to reopen it.
Drinks Stall Hawker Washes His Stall’s Trays
Apart from the fact that someone took his stall’s trays without asking him, the hawker also pointed out that he was upset about the trays “disappearing” since he has the habit of washing his stall’s trays.
He added that some stalls face a shortage of trays during peak hours and that he will let other stallholders have his stall’s trays as long as they tell him face-to-face that they need the trays.
After that, he will rewash the trays out of hygiene concerns.
He then explained that he was unhappy with the other stallholder as the other stallholder took the trays that he had put in the effort to wash without asking.
The hawker also said that he did not want to confront the other party in person. Hence, he turned to put up the sign instead.
Other Stallholder’s Reaction: It’s a Misunderstanding
When contacted by Shin Min, the stallholder that was accused of taking the trays explained that he thought that no one was using the trays when he took them.
According to him, he only took the trays from Kopi Kaki when its shutters were rolled down as the stall looked closed.
The stallholder, who was also not named, also claimed that this was just a misunderstanding and that he has not taken the trays from Kopi Kaki since then.
Response from Taman Jurong Hawkers’ Association: More Than Enough Trays at the Food Centre
With regards to this incident, the Chairman of the Taman Jurong Hawkers’ Association clarified that the NEA distributes 60 trays to every stall in the food centre.
According to him, there are “more than sufficient” trays in the food centre.
Additionally, the trays are shared property and are to be shared among the stalls.
Mr Zhang Wenjun (Hanyu pinyin), the association’s Chairman, also revealed that there are 122 stalls in the food centre.
Out of the 122 stalls, patrons that purchase from more than 20 stalls do not use the trays.
This means that there are over 1,000 “extra” trays in the food centre.
On another note, he mentioned that the cleaners in the food centre do wash the used trays and place them on racks for the hawkers to collect for their own stalls.
Mr Zhang, who sells mutton soup at the same food centre, also shared that he offers the trays at his stall if the other hawkers do not have enough trays placed at their stalls.
Featured Image: Facebook (Tan Renee)