In today’s world where everyone is fretting over the highly contagious Wuhan virus, someone is fretting over his eggs not being cooked fully.
Yes, you read that right.
A man ordered porridge from a lady hawker, 66-year-old Zhou Yuye, at Whampoa Hawker Centre on 1 February at around 11am.
However, he was annoyed that his egg was not completely cooked, so he believed that the next best course of action was to throw the hot porridge at her.
Zhou ended up suffering second-degree burns on her face and shoulder, and these burns are likely to turn into scars.
But what exactly happened? Did they have an argument which led him to throw the hot porridge?
“How Can Infants Eat Raw Eggs?”
In an interview with Shin Min Daily News, Zhou shared that the man who looked at least 40 years old ordered a bowl of porridge from her. However, he did not specify that he wanted the eggs to be fully cooked.
When he realised that the eggs weren’t thoroughly cooked, he threw a fit and started scolding Zhou.
She said, “He was unhappy that the egg was not completely cooked, and asked me, ‘How can infants eat raw eggs?’. After that, he swore at me and belittled me by saying that I’m just an employee.”
Despite feeling wrongfully accused, Zhou swallowed her anger and made a fresh bowl of porridge for the man, making sure that the egg this time was fully cooked.
Even though she had already made amends, the man continued to berate her as he took his new container of porridge.
Feeling indignant, Zhou remarked, “What if I’m the owner of this stall?” in response to his earlier jab saying that she was “just an employee”.
It seems that something had snapped within the man, because he immediately turned around, opened the lid of the container of porridge and threw it at her.
She didn’t realise what had just happened until moments later when she felt a burning sensation on her face.
That’s when she reported the incident to the police and asked customers for help.
In the interview, she said that her face was swollen and even her arm and shoulder were scalded too, “I got two huge blisters on my face. The doctor said that I have second-degree burns on my face and shoulder. They will definitely leave scars. The remaining skin injuries will require at least two years to heal.”
Bad Temper
According to Shin Min Daily News, the mother of the man who was also at the hawker centre claimed that her son has a bad temper. When she heard of the incident, she rushed to help Zhou to change her clothes and clean her wounds. She also apologised to Zhou with her son.
The mother later said in an interview that she brought anti-inflammatory medication to Zhou’s stall but was turned away by the hawker.
She said, “My son always had a bad temper. He is definitely in the wrong. I can’t say anything if the other party wants to take action. I just hope that this won’t blow up. If the other party requests medical compensation that is within my means, I will definitely consider paying it.”
Well, a bad temper doesn’t excuse one of causing hurt to others.
Remember guys, if your order was wrong, just tell the owner. I’m sure they’ll be happy to change it for you, especially if it was their mistake. There’s no need to get physical. They are also just trying to make a living.
It is sad and unfair that Zhou was a victim of the man’s bad temper, especially when she tried to correct his order, and we can only hope that she recovers soon and that justice will be served.