S’pore Uncle Pulls Off Plastic Covering Tables In Hawker Centre, Police Officer Calmly Explains That’s Not Okay

S’pore Uncle Shouts & Gestures At Police Officers Trying To Calm Him Down, Has Shouting Match With Auntie

It’s been about one week since the ‘Circuit Breaker’ measures set in, and we hope that apart from a minority of recalcitrant offenders, everybody more or less knows what we can and cannot do.

One of the big changes to our lifestyle is that we cannot eat out in public any more, we only can order takeaway from food outlets. To that end, most eating places in Singapore have removed or covered up their tables and chairs on government orders.

However, it seems one Singapore uncle might not have gotten the message, as he was seen removing the plastic covering on the tables of a hawker centre.

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Uncle tugs at plastic covering table until it comes off

In a video posted on Facebook by a netizen late on Monday (13 Apr), the uncle can be seen tugging and pulling at the plastic covering a table-and-seats set in a hawker centre.

He manages to almost get the plastic off before someone off-camera calls out to him.

In response, the uncle turns and shouts at the person, complete with a sweep of his right arm. He then walks unsteadily away from the table.

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What caused the uncle to pull off the plastic covering? And why does he seem rather agitated? We can’t tell from the video.

Police seen trying to calm uncle down

Perhaps the next video that was uploaded by the netizen, who claims he got it from WhatsApp, will give us a clue.

In the second video, the police are already at the scene, and they are talking to the uncle, who is seated at another table.

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When the first police officer talks to him in English, the uncle shouts aggressively at him, and even raises his arm to gesture at the officer. He appears to be telling him to “speak Mandarin”.

Another officer then proceeds to tell him, in Mandarin, to calm down. He also tells the old man that the plastic covering cannot be removed, as it is put there by the Government.

At this point, the uncle is still quite agitated, and one of the officers is holding his right arm down on the table. The officer says he will let go if the uncle calms down.

After awhile, the uncle talks in a softer tone, and says he has calmed down, so the officer lets go of his arm.

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Uncle behaves in threatening manner to auntie

However, that’s not the end of the show. Upon questioning by the police, an auntie who had been standing nearby speaks up.

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She seems to have had a prior altercation with the uncle, and she points to him, saying that he scolded her.

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Whatever she’s saying absolutely triggers the uncle, who suddenly stands up and raises his arm threateningly towards the old lady.

The lion-hearted auntie is uncowed, though. She stands her ground and tells him: “You want to fight is it?”

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Thankfully, the police officers were there, and one places a hand on the uncle’s shoulder, telling him to sit down and preventing things from getting out of control. Another officer also moves the auntie away.

The two elderly people continued to yell at each other, though, even after one officer says: “Uncle, sit down! We are the police!”

The situation only starts to peter out when the police tell the auntie to walk away.

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The auntie walks away, but still continues to stare the the uncle from afar.

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Everyone is frustrated now

As the video’s sound is unclear and it’s difficult to make out that the dispute was about, it’s unwise to speculate on what happened.

However, with the ‘Circuit Breaker’ measures, it’s safe to say that many people are frustrated at not being able to proceed with their normal way of life.

It’s clear that our seniors need to be protected, though, and kudos to the police officers for handling the situation professionally without the need to resort to extreme measures.

It’s a stressful time for all, and enforcement officers will probably be very busy, but let’s hope their efforts won’t be wasted and things get back to normal soon.

Featured images adapted from Facebook and Facebook.