Commuter says uncle ‘challenged him to a fight’ after he asked to move plastic bag from MRT seat
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SINGAPORE: People often encourage us to be brave and to speak up whenever a stranger or fellow commuter inconveniences us. And while this advice does occasionally work wonders, it sometimes backfires in ways no one quite expects.
Recently, one man shared online that his attempt at “speaking up” ended with the other party challenging him to an actual fight.
Recounting his experience on the r/singaporehappenings subreddit, the man shared that he had simply asked the uncle if “he could move his plastic bag so he could sit.”
“The train was full, and this uncle was sitting with his plastic bag taking up the seat next to him. I asked him nicely if he could put it on the floor so I could sit. Instead, he shouted at me and started arguing. He started shouting across the train and even challenged me to fight. I was just stunned lol,” he wrote.
“The bag wasn’t even that big, just a small/medium plastic with food inside, but he claimed it was “too heavy” to put on the ground.”
The man added that this was not the first questionable behaviour he had observed from the same individual. Earlier at Bishan MRT station, he claimed the uncle had blatantly cut the queue, stepping directly in front of the train doors while passengers were still alighting.
Reflecting on the bizarre exchange, the commuter turned to fellow Redditors for their views.
“Am I in the wrong for asking an uncle to move his plastic bag so I could sit? Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of entitled behaviour from some elderly — cutting queues, being super loud, etc. Anyone else kena similar nonsense before?”
“Why ask people to put their food on the floor?”
In the comments, one user shared that this had happened to him “a lot of times” already and even encouraged the man not to be intimidated next time. “Just fight, lor,” they said. “Usually, most uncles talk only.”
Another assured him that he was not “in the wrong” in this case, writing, “No, it’s just that they [old people] always think they can get away with it. Now they are even smarter, wear sunglasses and masks, so they can do whatever with no repercussions. So I am now doing the same.”
A third user added, “Should have asked him to take it outside at the next stop and try to time it such that he steps out and you can get back on before the door closes lol.”
Not everyone was against the uncle, though. Some came to his defence, arguing that his reaction wasn’t entirely unreasonable.
One said, “LOL… hrmm… why ask people to put their food on the floor? Especially if it’s cooked food. Just ask him to hold lar.”
Another shared, “Pretty sure there was a video uploaded not too long ago about an auntie putting food containers/tins/plastic bags on MRT seats. She challenged that the food was too hot to put on her lap and too unhygienic to be placed on the floor.”
In other news, a 20-year-old seamstress took to social media to share her experience of working at a “slightly well-known” vintage boutique, where she says she was grossly underpaid, overworked, and constantly belittled by the “toxic and narcissistic” store owner.
In her post on the r/SingaporeRaw forum, the woman explained that she had first joined the boutique as an intern for four months before leaving to continue her studies. After graduating, she returned to the same workplace, but resigned just two months later, citing mental health struggles and unrealistic expectations from her boss, who was paying her only S$16 an hour.