On 25 Aug, a user on the ‘COMPLAINT SINGAPORE’ Facebook group posted photos of a woman on a Personal Mobility Aid (PMA) at Parkway Parade.
The post alleged that the woman rode into Food Republic, got off, and walked around to buy food. It also accused her of speeding through the crowded indoor food court.
Source: Facebook
While some netizens have exercised empathy, most heavily criticised the woman and PMA users in general.
One even claimed that some of these users were merely taking advantage of them and not actually disabled.
The woman photographed in the post is 77-year-old Mdm Mabel Long, a long-term resident of Marine Parade.
She spoke to MS News to provide her side of the story.
When Mdm Long arrived at the interview, she slowly and carefully got off her PMA and onto the coffee shop chair. She was wearing the same flowery blouse that she had previously been photographed in.
Sipping on a cup of teh-o, the retired 77-year-old shared that she had lived in Marine Parade for more than 50 years, calling it her kampong. She lives in a four-room HDB flat with her 87-year-old husband.
Due to his heart problems which required a pacemaker, Mdm Long ran all their errands herself on her PMA.
Mdm Long herself, however, is also not in the best physical condition.
“I had two kneecap operations. The first one was over eight years ago and the second about a year and a half ago,” she said on the walking problems that led her to use the device.
Mdm Long has osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint condition that causes pain and affects mobility. On top of that, she suffers from spinal cord issues which doctors recommended major surgeries for.
However, Mdm Long refused them.
If I go through these and it’s not successful, I’ll be bedridden. Who’s going to care for me, and who’s going to care for [my husband]?
Mdm Long said that they had no helper at home and rarely met with their children.
As such, in her words, she instead opts to “live with the pain”, having to take medication daily. She told MS News that she suffers pain if she stands or walks for too long.
Mdm Long estimated that she could walk for about 10 metres or so without her PMA, but only with the help of a back brace she wears under her blouse.
She also usually utilises an umbrella that doubles as a walking stick to aid her.
Mdm Long said that she was afraid of getting a PMA at first despite her walking difficulties, mostly due to the price of these devices.
However, a friend told her that she would be able to get medical subsidies for one. As such, she brought it up to her doctor at the hospital and got referred to the Physiotherapy department.
Mdm Long said that the moment she entered, the department staff told her that she would definitely qualify for subsidies due to how poorly she was walking.
She explained that the hospital presented her with three different sizes of PMAs.
The staff then recommended the largest-sized device as the one best suited for her, saying that the smaller PMAs would run the risk of her falling and getting injured when turning.
Mdm Long, who was in her third year of using a PMA, said that she received a 90% subsidy on her device, owing to factors such as being retired and part of the Pioneer Generation.
Mdm Long told MS News that she usually did not go to Parkway Parade unless she needed to visit the bank or if her local supermarkets did not have what she needed.
On the day of the incident, the evening of 23 Aug according to her memory, Mdm Long went to the Food Republic on the B1 floor to buy some food for her and her husband.
She first made an order on her PMA at the Korean food stall, which she said was the first stall at one end of the food court.
Source: Facebook
After a few minutes, she decided to walk across to buy some popiah from another stall, choosing not to use her PMA or walking stick. She instead used the tables and chairs on the way to help support herself.
Mdm Long then returned to the Korean stall to pick up her food and left on her PMA. She said that she had to go through the food court to get to the lifts.
She also claimed that the food court was not too crowded at the time and that there was little risk of her hitting anyone.
After the post of her went online, a friend forwarded her the photos and asked if that was her. Mdm Long initially felt a little upset at the comments but tried to just dismiss it.
However, as she saw it repeatedly over the next few days, the online hate started affecting her psychologically and emotionally to the point that she did not even want to look at her phone anymore.
The comments left her wondering why people were being so unkind with accusations.
Mdm Long even considered meeting Dr Tan See Leng, a Marine Parade MP, to explain the situation. The two had previously met a year ago when Mdm Long was also on a PMA.
However, she decided not to after seeing Dr Tan’s busy schedule and feeling her situation might be too trivial for him.
Nonetheless, she kept the option in the back of her mind for if the online hate got too much.
Mdm Long said that those netizens who flung accusations and vitriol at PMA users were speaking unfavourably of people without fully understanding the situation.
She noted that it would be difficult for mere observers to discern her side of the story from a single photo online.
Additionally, Mdm Long wished that the person who had taken the photo was more upfront about their discontent.
“Why not come and approach me and ask or tell me ‘Hey you shouldn’t be doing that’ and I will explain [it] to you,” she said.
Instead, they decided to upload the photos to Facebook and ended up creating a “free-for-all” for netizens to bash her.
Mdm Long acknowledged that there are “bad apples” who misuse PMAs and ride recklessly, agreeing that it was wrong of them to do so.
However, there were many in Singapore like her for whom PMAs were a requirement who ended up as innocent victims of criticism.
Source: Facebook
PMAs have been the subject of online discourse in recent times, often leading to negativity and insensitive remarks.
The hot topic is a divisive one, as shown by the results of one Answers.sg poll.
48% of 1,726 respondents voted that PMAs should not be allowed in indoor areas such as malls.
Of the remaining number, 35% said that the devices should be allowed while the rest were neutral about the topic.
For Mdm Long, all she hopes for is a kinder society that can make space for older people. She said:
Singapore has an ageing population. Have a heart for these people. As you grow old, you will undoubtedly have medical problems.
Unfortunately, the lack of empathy towards her was not new to Mdm Long.
In her last job as a member of the security staff in a school’s hostel during the Covid-19 pandemic, she recalled that her senior colleagues would say she was bai ka (crippled) and asked why she was still working there.
She ended up resigning after her supervisor allegedly said she would get him into trouble.
Mdm Long had also faced issues aboard public transport. In one particular instance, a bus driver had asked her to leave the bus.
However, Mdm Long believes that “anything can be solved in an amicable or civilised way.”
As such, Mdm Long expressed her desire to meet the OP of the Facebook post so she could personally explain her situation to them.
That way, she hoped they could reflect on whether their actions were too rash or harsh.
Also read: Woman rides PMA in Parkway Parade food court, sparks anger & debate among netizens
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image by MS News and adapted from Facebook. Photography by Mavis Chan.
Even low levels of contamination in dairy products can pose "a significant risk", SFA said.
It's "not unusual" for rats to be seen at food stalls, said a man who…
No ambulance assistance was required, SCDF said.
Both drivers said they misjudged the water level.
The teen was sent to a hospital after getting rescued.
The man will be permanently banned from the entering Thailand.