A lone monkey may be adorable, but an army of monkeys sounds like absolute terror.
Unfortunately, for store owners at Punggol Settlement, a troop of about 30 monkeys has become regular patrons, visiting almost every ten days.
They would wreak havoc each time, stealing food, sometimes even straight from customers.
Frustrated, owners shared with Shin Min Daily News on 1 Aug that they are at a loss on what to do about the situation.
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, a 7-Eleven staff Ms Ma shared that the primates visit almost every ten days.
Every visit, they would steal some chips and bread from the store without fail before climbing up a tree to enjoy them. And the staff are unable to do anything about this ‘daylight robbery’ except yell at the monkeys, attempting to chase them away.
Sometimes, the monkeys would even get to the delivery boxes, ripping through the packaging. The store had no choice but to toss the packages out, incurring losses of S$20 to S$30 each time.
Ms Jin, a Punggol Settlement restaurant staff, said the monkeys often disrupt their business.
On some occasions, she witnessed the monkeys taking customers’ drinks and smashing the cups. Customers were left petrified. Some specified that they would not be sitting outdoors on their next visit.
The restaurant has now prepared a broom to chase the monkeys away and stop them from disturbing customers.
House of Seafood’s CEO, Mr Francis Ng, shared that the losses incurred by the monkeys are extensive. The primates had damaged items, such as ornaments, menus, and cutleries placed outside the restaurant.
Source: 螃蟹之家 House of Seafood at Punggol on Facebook
Each time they visited, restaurant staff could do nothing but stand and watch as the monkeys grabbed the restaurant’s items and left.
Most Punggol Settlement store owners are now at a loss for what to do next. After all, they are located within a nature park.
Mr Ng speculated that these monkeys had been living in the forested area nearby but had lost their food source. Hence, they’re coming into the area in search of sustenance.
Mr Cai said he had already lodged a complaint to the landlord and chopped down nearby tree branches.
He would also use a cane to hit the walls, hoping the sound would scare them. However, this did not deter the monkeys.
He shared with Shin Min Daily News that he was tired and didn’t know what else to do.
While it might be amusing to watch monkeys stealing food or prancing around, it’s not easy to deal with them almost every day and watch them disrupt your business.
It’s easy to empathise with the plight of these store owners.
Hopefully, authorities will be able to step in to help them cope with these new ‘customers’ and get the situation under control.
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News on Facebook and Punggol Settlement.
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