Squabble over CCTV cameras: Punggol hawker claims he suffered concussion after attack by fellow stallholder

When a fishball noodle seller in Punggol noticed a CCTV camera purportedly aimed at her stall, she decided to use a broom to shift the camera away.

This led to a spat with a neighbouring chicken rice hawker who had installed the camera.

The altercation occurred at a coffee shop located at Block 639 Punggol Drive at around 10pm last Saturday (April 20), reported Shin Min Daily News.

The 35-year-old chicken rice hawker surnamed Zou told the Chinese evening daily that he was checking the camera feed of his stall that day when he noticed that the camera angle had changed.

Upon reviewing the footage, he discovered that the culprit was the female owner of the neighbouring stall.

Wanting to correct the position of the CCTV camera, Zou contacted the stallholder for help — but the duo got into an argument via voice messaging.

The hawker then decided to head down to his stall himself to re-angle the camera lens.

However, Zou claimed that the stallholder swore at him and accused him of deliberately pointing the security camera at her. He alleged that she then hit him on the back of his head.

Zou told Shin Min that the alleged attack left him dizzy with an elevated heart rate and a bout of vomiting. He sought medical treatment after lodging a police report.

"The doctor said it's a concussion and administered an injection for pain relief. Now, I still feel dizzy on occasion," he said.

Zou also claimed that the stallholder had damaged the lens of the CCTV camera when she used a metal rod to adjust the camera's position again after their squabble.

He plans to take legal action against the woman to seek compensation for his medical bill and cost of the CCTV camera.

Fishball noodle hawker denies claims

However, the fishball noodle seller, who declined to reveal her name, has denied Zou's claim of the attack and asked him to provide proof of injury.

Speaking to Shin Min, the stallholder also denied damaging the camera's lens, adding: "Nobody knows who actually damaged the camera, we used the same tool [to adjust], and it may have spoilt when he (Zou) shifted it."

She told Shin Min that the chicken rice stall had doubled the number of CCTV cameras in their stall from three to six after a change in management about two to three years ago.

After noticing a camera pointed at their stall around a year ago, she asked her staff to adjust its angle, but it was later shifted back, she alleged.

According to a Shin Min reporter, two of the six security cameras are aimed at the cash register of the chicken rice stall, with one of the two cameras believed to be capturing the premises of the fishball noodle stall.

The police told the Chinese newspaper that they have received a report regarding the alleged attack and are investigating.

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com