Source: SGRV FRONT MAN on Facebook
On 15 Sep, a Facebook video was uploaded on the Facebook page SG Road Vigilante showing a conflict between a security guard in Hougang and a food delivery man.
The incident reportedly took place on 5 Sept at 4.40pm at the Central View condos.
The video showed the perspective of a delivery man explaining to the condo security that he had not received a unit number to deliver the items to.
He allegedly tried to call the customer but they had not picked up the call. As such, he decided to leave the food items, a bag containing several cups of milk tea, on a chair outside the condo security guard house for the customer to collect later.
Source: SGRV FRONT MAN on Facebook
However, the security guard refused to allow this. Seizing the plastic bag, he demanded the delivery man take the item or he would throw it away.
He made a gesture of winding his arm up to show that he meant physically tossing the milk tea.
Source: SGRV FRONT MAN on Facebook
“Sir, you cannot throw,” the delivery man could be heard warning the condo security guard.
He explained the situation to the security guard, prompting the latter to angrily tell the delivery man to wait with the drinks at the guard post until the customer arrived.
The delivery man did not appear to agree, as he began to back away towards the condo’s exit gate while telling the guard that he “cannot throw” the milk tea away.
“[The] customer paid for this drink. If you throw, you’re responsible,” he said, continuing to move away from the post.
The condo security guard once more scolded the delivery man for leaving the drinks there despite ordering him not to.
Source: SGRV FRONT MAN on Facebook
Eventually, the guard flung the plastic bag away. It landed near the delivery man’s feet, with the milk tea spilling out of the plastic cups and onto the road.
Source: SGRV FRONT MAN on Facebook
The two parties then stared at each other in silence for a few seconds before the video ended.
Shin Min Daily News interviewed the security guard, 63-year-old Mr Zhuo (transliterated). He confirmed that the delivery man claimed not to know the customer’s address and was unable to contact the customer, later deciding to leave the items at the guard post.
The guard then repeatedly warned him not to leave the item there or he would throw it away.
Mr Zhuo said that food could not be left at the guard house for safety reasons, in accordance with the rules given by the condo management.
He said that he did not want to throw the milk tea away but was enraged by the delivery man ignoring numerous warnings and slowly walking away.
Source: SGRV FRONT MAN on Facebook
Mr Zhuo acknowledged that delivery workers were just trying to do their jobs but said they could not ignore regulations.
He added that when delivery personnel faced the occasional problems, they would wait patiently and try to contact the customer again to cooperate with the Hougang condo’s rules.
He claimed that the incident on 5 Sept was the first time he had encountered such a difficult delivery man in his three months working at the guard post.
Netizens were split on who was at fault for the incident.
Many sided with the security, with one commenter saying that the delivery man should not have pushed his problem onto the guard and that it wasn’t the guard’s job to assist with a delivery order.
Source: Facebook
On the other hand, some labelled the security guard as being too grumpy and found him throwing the drinks to be needlessly extreme.
A food delivery worker told Shin Min that they had to follow the rules in the condos and not leave food unattended. In such a situation, the delivery person should inform their platform and would then have the right to handle the food items themselves.
However, the worker said that the guard shouldn’t have thrown the milk tea either.
The Executive Secretary of the Union of Security Employees (USE) said that the Central View condo management had clear rules stating that food deliveries could not be left outside the guard post over hygiene and food safety concerns.
He also highlighted that the issue originated from a communication issue between the customer and the delivery service and was not part of the responsibility of the security guard.
As such, the delivery man could not insist on leaving the milk tea there and just leaving.
However, the USE spokesperson acknowledged that Mr Zhuo should have handled the situation more calmly and not flung the drinks to the ground. They added that both parties deserved some blame for the incident.
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Featured image adapted from SGRV FRONT MAN on Facebook.
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