'Don't waste my bag': Jurong West hawker takes plastic bag back from woman, says it's very expensive

One moment the plastic bag was there, and the next it was gone.

A stunned diner had her meal rudely interrupted when the plastic bag for her takeaway drinks was unexpectedly taken back by the hawker who sold her the drinks.

The woman, surnamed Lim, was having breakfast with her family at Jurong West Street 505 Market and Food Centre at around 9am last Friday (July 21) when the incident occurred, 8world reported yesterday (July 23).

They had bought two cups of hot soya bean milk from a hawker stall. As Lim was worried that the soya bean milk would be too hot to finish drinking at the food centre, she requested her drinks for takeaway.

The hawker subsequently packed the two cups of soya bean milk in a plastic bag.

Lim and her family then sat down at a nearby table to enjoy their breakfast when the hawker suddenly walked up to their table and removed the plastic bag from their drinks.

Taken aback by the abrupt incident, she thought there was an issue with the packaging. When the hawker did not return with another carrier however, she approached them for an explanation.

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The hawker then told a puzzled Lim that "the bag is very expensive, don't waste my bag since you're drinking here".

The hawker only conceded and returned the bag when Lim said again that she wanted to takeaway her drinks.

Lim told 8world that the previous times she patronised the stall, takeaway bags were provided and the staff were not as rude.

She suggested that the hawker charge for their plastic bags if the cost is high, and let customers know and decide if they wanted the carrier.

In an interview with 8world on Sunday, the hawker expressed that she felt it unreasonable to provide takeaway bags for dine-in customers, but gave Lim the takeaway bags after she explained her situation.

The hawker shared that the stall uses around 500 bags on weekdays and even more on weekends. Each pack contains 20 bags and costs 45 cents.

When asked if they would consider charging extra for takeaway bags, she explained that there are many factors to consider before charging a fee for takeaway packaging, and was worried that it might also affect business.

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com