Uncle in wheelchair 'fights' with Ang Mo Kio coffee shop staff over blocked toilet entrance

When you gotta go, you gotta go.

It appears that one elderly patron in a wheelchair could not take no for an answer, as he was captured on camera attempting to barge into a coffee shop toilet.

The incident happened on Wednesday (May 24) afternoon at an S-11 coffee shop at Blk 51, Ang Mo Kio Ave 3, Shin Min Daily News reported.

A 35-second video clip showed the man in a motorised wheelchair knocking aside a dustbin as well as a trolley and two oil cans, as he sought a path to the toilet.

A female staff who was holding a broom went up to try to stop the man as he appeared to bend over to pick up another broom blocking the toilet entrance. A tussle ensued.

According to Shin Min, the elderly man was hit by the broom in the fracas.

In the clip, the woman could be heard chiding the man in Mandarin while they were both engaged in a tug of war: "Go away, you might fall down.

She added: "Ask your wife to come."

Speaking in Mandarin, the man retorted: "No need, I can do it by myself."

At this point, two men walked into the frame and the video ended abruptly.

When a Shin Min reporter visited the coffee shop on Friday (May 26), one stallholder who did not wish to be named shared that the fight had erupted as the elderly patron wanted to use the toilet.

However, he surmised that the area could have been cordoned off for safety reasons as the floor was wet after cleaning. 

The stallholder added that the cleaner would usually block the entrance to the toilet whenever it is being cleaned, but the elderly man barged in nonetheless after requesting to use the toilet several times.

The altercation lasted about 10 minutes and police were called in thereafter, said the stallholder.

The police officers advised the elderly man to seek medical attention, after which he was conveyed to hospital in an ambulance.

[[nid:614724]]

"But I didn't notice any obvious injuries on the man," said the stallholder.

The female staff in the video declined to comment when approached, but expressed surprise upon knowing that footage of the incident had been leaked.

According to the woman, a colleague had recorded the altercation but the latter had claimed to be unclear about how it ended up being circulated.

One coffee shop customer who viewed the clip told the reporter from the Chinese daily that the female worker was in the wrong.

"From the video, it looks like the uncle is quite old and he might not be able to control his bladder or bowel movements well. If the female worker was concerned for his safety, she could have asked her male colleagues for help and should not have treated him this way," said the 26-year-old student.

Another 40-year-old customer said what the elderly man did was wrong, but at the same time female worker could also have helped him.

Over on TikTok, a copy of the video was uploaded by user Fengzi560112, who appeared to take the side of the patron, stating in the caption: "What's the reason for doing such a thing to an old man?"

A majority of comments to the clip, however, expressed that what the elderly man did was uncalled for.

"Some old men are very terrible. Don't take pity on them, they just act act," wrote one.

Others shared that both the elderly man and worker were in the wrong.

ALSO READ: Broken toes, bruised ribs: Coffee shop patrons attack beer lady who refused to play drinking game with them

candicecai@asiaone.com