A woman allegedly stopped a fellow commuter from sitting on an empty MRT seat by placing her hand on it, despite other passengers standing nearby, according to an MS News reader.
The reader wrote to MS News about the incident last Friday (9 Oct), saying it happened on a train travelling from Yishun towards Raffles Place that day.
According to the reader, the woman, who was wearing a pink dress, kept her left hand on the empty seat beside her while the train was crowded.
The reader claimed that a man, wearing black, later tried to sit on the empty seat.
However, the woman allegedly told him: “No, you go and find another seat.”
Source: Euan Cameron on Unsplash. For illustrative purposes only.
The reader said the woman’s response annoyed them, but they decided against confronting her as they were rushing to their destination.
She also criticised the alleged behaviour, arguing that commuters should not reserve seats for others when passengers are standing.
The reader even compared the woman’s posture to a hen spreading its wings over its eggs.
“She continued to place her hand on the empty seat, hogging the seat like a hen spreading its wings over its eggs in order to incubate them,” the reader said.
“She had only paid for one train ticket meant for one person, not two.”
According to the reader, an older man, whom they believed to be the woman’s husband, boarded the train at a later station.
The woman then called out to him to sit beside her, the reader claimed.
The reader said she had taken photographs of the incident and wanted to share the account to remind commuters to be considerate of others using public transport.
She added that all passengers had paid their fares and deserved a fair opportunity to use the available seats.
“Passengers taking public transport should minimally know the unspoken social rules instead of acting selfishly,” she told MS News.
Also read: Man caught looking at pictures of women allegedly taken on MRT, commuter spreads warning
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Featured image courtesy of MS News reader.