Sometimes, kerfuffles occur between employees and customers.
Imagine enjoying a nice meal and hearing a fight break out.
A video depicting an elderly uncle and a worker at an Ang Mo Kio coffee shop fighting has been making rounds on the internet.
The Video
The pair were fighting over a blocked toilet entrance.
The TikTok video has since gained 11.1k views.
The incident occurred around 3 pm on 24 May at S11 coffee shop at Block 51, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3.
A fallen trash can that was almost fully filled in front of the coffee shop’s toilet could be seen in the video.
In the video, a woman employee used a mop to aggressively push the mess on the floor towards an elderly uncle in a motorised wheelchair.
The uncle then tried to get up from his wheelchair and grab a broom. The employee blocked him with the broom and asked him to leave.
This led to a mini tug-of-war as she angrily asked him to call his wife.
Two men entered the room, probably to investigate the noise.
The video then ends abruptly.
After the incident, Shin Min Daily News received the video via email.
What Happened?
A Shin Min reporter visited the coffee shop on 26 May to learn more.
The unnamed vendor told Shin Min Daily News that the uncle had wanted to go to the toilet.
However, as the floor was wet, the toilet entrance was barricaded, and he was not allowed to use it.
He noted that the uncle was very persistent, leading to a fight between him and an employee trying to stop him from using the toilet.
The vendor explained that due to the coffee shop’s large crowd, employees would usually put objects in front of the toilet’s entrance when cleaning it.
The uncle’s request to use the toilet was declined several times, so he used an electric wheelchair to break through the makeshift barricade.
The fight lasted more than 10 minutes, and the police were called.
According to the vendor, four police officers arrived at the scene and suggested that the uncle be sent to the hospital for a medical examination.
Though an ambulance arrived and sent him to the hospital, the vendor did not notice any apparent injuries on the uncle’s body.
Video Possibly Leaked by Colleague
When Shin Min Daily News talked to the employee in the video, she admitted to being the woman involved in the incident.
However, she was surprised that the video was leaked.
Apparently, another worker had filmed the video.
She did not know why the video was circulated and refused to comment on the situation, calling it a “trivial matter”.
Netizen Response
26-year-old Mr Ye, a customer at the coffee shop, told Shin Min Daily News, “Judging from the video, the uncle is old. Perhaps his ability to control his bowels isn’t good.”
He and another interviewee, 40-year-old Mr Fang, felt that the employee should have helped the uncle, even though he should not have broken the barricade.
Netizens online were on the fence as well.
In the caption of the TikTok video, the user wrote, “How could she do this to an old man?”
However, some netizens felt that the uncle was in the wrong.
While it is uncommon to see physical fights break out in Singapore, another fight broke out in an MRT train that stopped at Orchard MRT station just a few weeks ago in mid-May.
The fight was uploaded as a reel onto Facebook by user @Sugar Plums.
One man was lying on the ground and used his legs to lock another man’s neck in a chokehold.
Passers-by tried to break up the fight.
One man tried to stop the man on the floor from punching the other.
However, attempts to separate the men were futile.
The police later arrested the two men involved for affray.