Fat Po Eatery In Punggol Urges For Respect Towards Staff After Alleged Abuse
UPDATE (2.40pm): Channel NewsAsia (CNA) confirmed that police will be investigating the incident, which took place along Tebing Lane on 12 Mar.
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Staff in the F&B industry work long hours, and they’re constantly on their feet to give us the best dining experience possible. However, sometimes, demanding or unreasonable customers make their jobs much more challenging.
At Fat Po restaurant near Punggol Container Park on Saturday night (12 Mar), 2 customers reportedly created a ruckus when they disobeyed rules and abused the staff physically and verbally.
Both men eventually left when another customer called the police. The restaurant has also lodged a police report.
Carol Tan, who was dining at the restaurant, later took to Facebook to share about the incident. We summarise the incident after the lengthy post.
Men smoke at table & consume outside food
Ms Tan shared that on Saturday night (12 Mar), the 2 men walked into Fat Po without queueing and helped themselves to a table.
After ordering their food, one man started smoking at the table.
When staff told them this was not allowed, he tried to wriggle his way out.
It was only after much persuasion by both the manager and waitstaff at Fat Po that he finally moved to smoke outside.
However, the man returned to the restaurant with satay purchased from outside.
When informed that outside food is not allowed, the man raised his voice, saying he was very hungry.
He proceeded to ask the staff, “Then you tell me where I can sit?”
The staff explained that outside food was banned within the premises according to NEA guidelines, and the boss of the eatery would reprimand him if he allowed it.
Despite promising that they would not eat the satay, both men continued consuming the food.
Men allegedly physically & verbally abuse Punggol eatery staff
When the staff came by to serve their food, he noticed they were still eating the satay.
Ms Tan shared that the staff gave a “helpless look” before putting the dishes down and walking off. Due to this, both men shouted at the staff in return, alleging that his attitude was bad.
One of the men even smashed a plate on the floor, and more workers immediately came by to clean the mess up.
At this moment, the man in white stood up and shoved a female staff so hard that she was left with a red mark on her arm.
The manager then informed the men they would not be charged if they left the premises.
But on the way out, one of the men again threatened to assault another staff.
At this point, a customer, Justin, stood up to defend the staff, asking the men to stop harassing them. The men proceeded to challenge Justin to a fight.
Eventually, the 2 men vacated the premises after Justin called the police.
Fat Po lodges police report
The management of Fat Po later acknowledged the incident in an official statement on Facebook.
In the post, Fat Po thanked everyone for their support during the incident and stated that they have since lodged a police report.
They urged anyone who witnessed the incident to reach out to them.
Fat Po asserted that their staff must be treated with respect. They should not be subjected to assault and abuse when trying to give customers a good dining experience.
The restaurant said the management does not condone any act of aggression and abuse towards their staff.
Treat staff with respect
Serving customers all day long is a difficult task as it is. F&B staff should not be subjected to such undue stress and rude behaviour.
Kudos to Justin and other customers who stood up for the staff.
Hopefully, this is also a reminder to everyone to treat the waitstaff at eateries with more empathy and respect.
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Featured image adapted from Carol Tan on Facebook.
