PUBLISHED ONJuly 15, 2024 4:49 AMByLim KeweiA long-standing dispute between two groups of seniors in Chinatown turned ugly when a fight on Saturday (July 13) evening landed one woman in hospital.
The altercation started as a verbal spat over 'territory' at the Garden Link Bridge, which saw the police called in, reported Shin Min Daily News.
Acting on a reader tip-off, a Shin Min reporter who arrived at the overpass after 7pm spotted about 20 seniors from a dance group at the pavilion and 16 people from a singing group at the nearby sheltered walkway.
The singing group was reportedly blasting songs from loudspeakers, drowning out the dance group's music and forcing them to stop. Two women from the singing group subsequently started dancing at the pavilion.
A participant of the singing group, surnamed Chen, told the Chinese evening daily that the dance group would call the police if they believed that the singing group is being loud.
"I'm singing here and they're also dancing here, but they keep reporting us to try and stop us from singing here, which is very unfair. They will also come here early to hog seats," said the 64-year-old housewife.
"They called the police on us more than 10 times, and the police had also said that this is a public space. Their calls are a misuse of police resources."
She added that both parties would occasionally get into verbal tiffs over the use of the space.
Another member of the singing group, also surnamed Chen, said he has had similar conflicts with the dance group.
"I started singing here seven to eight years ago. Three to four years ago, the dance group members were unhappy with my singing and reported me to the police," said the 70-year-old.
"I felt that it was unfair, so I sometimes raise the volume of my music."
A leader of the dance group, who declined to be named, admitted that her older sister had called the police over disputes about the space.
One dance teacher denied any wrongdoing and pointed to members of the singing group as troublemakers.
While the reporter did not witness any physical clash between the groups and left at about 8pm, a reader later told the paper that a fight broke out at about 9pm.
"I heard people say it seemed like two or three people were beating up a woman," said the reader, who wanted to remain anonymous.
It was not reported which group the injured woman belongs to.
The police told AsiaOne they were alerted to a dispute at 91 Upper Cross Street at about 7.45pm that day, and a 68-year-old woman was taken conscious to the hospital.
Four women aged between 64 and 75 are assisting with investigations for criminal force and voluntarily causing hurt. Police investigations are ongoing.
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lim.kewei@asiaone.com
