Bishan East food rescue staff asks people not to chope queue spots with items

People chope queue spots with items at Bishan East food rescue event

On Friday (23 Aug), the Facebook page for the Bishan community group, Bishan East Zone 1 Residents’ Network (RN), posted about an incident of people chope-ing queue spots with items at a food rescue event instead of physically queueing.

The event took place at the Bishan East Zone 1 Green Hub, located at Block 112 Bishan Street 12.

Food rescues are community events where unwanted food collected by volunteers is redistributed to residents. This serves to both reduce food wastage and give food to those who need it.

Residents chope queue spots in Bishan food rescue

According to their Facebook page, the Bishan East Zone 1 RN food rescue events are bring-your-own-bag and first-come-first-served. No reservations were allowed.

The 23 Aug food rescue event had been a success, with “overwhelming support” from residents, many of whom got up early to queue for the event.

“We appreciate the early bird zeal in queuing up for restocks in good orderliness & neighbourliness,” the Facebook post said.

However, in the same Facebook post, the Bishan East Zone 1 Green Hub Food Rescue Team also noted that people were chope-ing spaces in the queue like they were at a hawker centre.

To illustrate what had happened, they posted two photos. The first one showed a line of people queuing physically; this post was accompanied by a smiley face emoji sticker.

On the other hand, second photo showed a queue of inanimate objects, mostly plastic bags, held down by stones from the nearby community garden.

This one featured a shocked emoji sticker instead.

The team acknowledged that the chope-ing was creative but prohibited.

“All items found lying on the floor will be deemed as litter and cleared or confiscated,” the post warned.

Coincidentally, the queue also started right next to a pillar with a “no littering” sign plastered on it.

Netizens criticise chope-ing queue spots

Netizens mostly agreed with the request, seeing it as only fair.

One commenter, however, said that those who didn’t want to “put in effort” to physically queue should be banned from collecting.

Another netizen criticised the chope culture that Singapore has, even saying that it should be made illegal and punished via a S$200 fine.

Someone replied to argue that it wasn’t a big deal and that the residents were taking a seat while they choped a queue spot. They added that residents were also “very automatic” in cleaning up the queue items later.

In response to MS News’ queries, Bishan East Zone 1 RN said it has published a second post to address the widespread concerns on the ground and social media pertaining the chope culture.

“While we maintain an open heart and an open mind towards different needs and expectations within our community, some basic guidelines are still essential to ensure that every resident enjoys a pleasant food rescue experience,” it said.

It reiterated its stance, saying people should queue physically at its food rescue events, adding that chope-ing by objects is strictly prohibited.

Its next food rescue will be on Tuesday (27 Aug) at 10.30pm.

Also read: Woman stands in Johor parking lot to ‘chope’ it for S’pore-registered car, waves other vehicles away

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Featured image adapted from Bishan East Zone 1 RN on Facebook.