'I thought it was a waste': Several elderly men seen eating leftovers at Chinatown hawker centre

A group of elderly men have allegedly been chowing down on leftovers in the hawker centre at People's Park Centre, Shin Min Daily News reported on Wednesday (Sep 18).

These men purportedly operate by taking unfinished food left on tables and tray return areas, consuming them.

Speaking with Shin Min, a Chinese food vendor surnamed Du (transliteration) said that he has been operating a stall at People's Park Centre for more than 10 years.

And he has noticed that in recent times, about three people visit the hawker centre to snack on the leftovers of other diners every day.

"They usually show up at 8pm or 9pm and kind customers occasionally see them, buying food from us to give to them," the 52-year-old vendor said. 

"Most of these people who scavenge for food are elderly, but there are also some who are younger than me." 

A stall assistant surnamed Ma (transliteration), 50, told the Chinese paper that she has seen one of these men swoop in immediately after diners leave, eating their leftovers.

"Sometimes, customers order too much and leave a lot left on their plates, so he sits down and eats what's left," she said.

However, cleaner Ah Quan (transliteration) added that these men aren't poor - he saw the same uncle eating leftovers buy drinks for himself.

"They come almost every day, usually around 10am in the morning and leave in the afternoon," he said.

'I thought it was a waste'

A Shin Min reporter encountered one of the elderly men eating leftovers when they visited the hawker centre at around 11am.

He was seen carrying a cup of sugarcane juice, a bottle of orange juice and a packet of fried noodles.

The man walked over to the MRT station's entrance, pulling out cardboard to spread on the ground before putting his belongings on it and sitting down, eating his noodles.

Speaking with Shin Min, the man, surnamed Wang, said that he's a Pasir Ris resident who decided to start frequenting Chinatown a few months prior.

"I have a family and children, but it's livelier here," the 84-year-old said. "I come here every day and go home in the evening."

Although he did admit to having eaten leftovers in the hawker centre, he explained that he wasn't lacking the money needed to buy food.

Instead, he simply didn't want the food to go to waste.

He shared: "Some people order a lot but cannot finish their food… I thought it was a waste so I ate it. The food was still hot."

Wang also said that he's seen other people eating leftovers, but they mostly leave each other alone.

Could result in food poisoning, Freegan says

This group's actions in eating leftovers could be a risk to personal health, Daniel Tay, a freegan, told AsiaOne.

Being a freegan involves receiving items from people for free - including food - or searching for sources of free things from around Singapore.

This includes asking friends for things they no longer need that may just be cluttering their home, or even dumpster diving.

"I don't encourage [eating leftovers], because we don't know for how long the food has been left out before eating it," Tay said.

"We also don't know if any animals (birds or pests) have contaminated the food between the time it was abandoned and the time it was eaten. All these could result in food poisoning."

It's also possible that the diner had contaminated the food in some way, whether by spitting or leaving tissues in the dish, or simply being sick, he added.

"If they still want to do it, it is at their own risk," Tay cautioned.

Instead of going for leftovers, Tay recommends approaching diners while they are still at their table to ask them for their food if they cannot finish eating it.

"That would ensure that the food is still clean and good to eat, and the person giving the food would also be aware that their leftovers could be used to feed another person," he explained.

"[This would make] them more aware about the food waste they generated and, hopefully, help them to stop generating so much waste."

ALSO READ: Several men spotted eating diners' leftovers at People's Park Food Centre, sparking public concern

khooyihang@asiaone.com