'I treat my employees like sisters', says woman who slapped former staff

Two women who were caught in a tussle have spoken up about the incident, after a video of one of them slapping the other was posted on Stomp.

Stomp contributor ZZ, who owns Zeng Zeng TCM at Block 85 Marine Parade Central, had earlier shared CCTV footage of the altercation that occurred in her clinic on May 24, at 10.47am.

The video shows a woman, who is the owner of a beauty salon, slapping one of ZZ's employees.

ZZ identified the victim as Cheng Juan, 37, and the attacker as Wang Yan, 46. The Stomp contributor, who was not in the clinic when the incident happened, also said that Cheng Juan used to work for Wang Yan.

According to ZZ, Wang Yan had entered the clinic with a man and claimed that she was looking for Cheng Juan urgently. As staff thought Wang Yan was a customer, they went to get Cheng Juan.

ZZ told Stomp: "When Wang Yan saw Cheng Juan, she raised her hand and hit Cheng Juan without a word."

Other customers were present when the scene unfolded.

Another staff member who witnessed the incident called ZZ to inform her about the situation, prompting the Stomp contributor to call the police and rush down to the clinic.

ZZ added: "Wang Yan requested to see me after hitting people. What made me even angrier was how the man accompanying her ordered my staff to take over Cheng Juan's work, saying there was something important to discuss."

ZZ said the incident has affected business and also left her in a dilemma about how to ensure a safe working environment.

Cheng Juan, who visited a doctor on the same day, told Shin Min Daily News that her left cheek was red and swollen after the slap. Her ear also hurt and even swallowing left her in discomfort.

"I greeted Wang Yan when I saw her, but I didn't expect her to slap me," recounted Cheng Juan.

"I was stunned and wanted to question what gave her the right to hit someone. She also slandered me and called me a liar."

Although Cheng Juan returned to work the following day, she was emotionally unstable and unable to work. She was also worried about affecting her colleagues and customers, and therefore went on leave.

Cheng Juan explained that she had worked for Wang Yan at a beauty salon in Tampines for three years. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and having not seen her children in China for several years, she decided to quit and return home. However, her plans were waylaid by financial considerations.

The single mother of two added: "I resigned in mid-March this year and they didn't ask me to stay. I later changed my mind and found my current job through an agent."

[[nid:632413]]

She said that she is unclear why Wang Yan came to confront her, but believes that the latter might have thought she had lied about returning to China and wanted to poach customers.

Cheng Juan's elder sister is currently caring for her kids in China.

Wang Yan, however, gave a different side to the story.

She said she had not only given Wang Juan a red packet and a farewell party when she quit, but even told her she was welcome to return to her job if she came back to Singapore.

Yet in May, she learnt from numerous customers that Cheng Juan was still in Singapore.

"They said she was currently working at a TCM clinic and had asked them to drop by. Isn't that stealing customers?" Wang Yan lamented to Shin Min.

Wang Yan also said she would be taking legal action, but admitted to being impulsive on the day of the incident as she had only wanted Cheng Juan to explain herself.

She further noted that she did not use a lot of force and said Cheng Juan had also fought back.

Wang Yan shared: "I treat my employees like sisters and single-handedly taught them everything I know. I didn't expect such a thing to happen."

In response, Cheng Juan bit back that those customers were like her old friends, which was why she had told them to visit her new workplace.

This article was first published in Stomp. Permission required for reproduction.