PUBLISHED ONJuly 14, 2025 7:28 AMBYKhoo Yi-HangA locksmith has filed a police report after he was harassed by members of the public for allegedly raising his voice at an elderly woman in Yishun, according to a Facebook post by the locksmith last Saturday (July 12).
The locksmith, surnamed Koh, said he has made a police report regarding an incident last Thursday (July 10) where he was called to unlock a door in Yishun.
According to a viral Facebook post then, an elderly woman was locked out of her home at around 7am because of a broken key and sought help from two neighbours.
The neighbours, unable to open her door, enlisted Koh's assistance.
While Koh was on his way over, however, the trio managed to retrieve the woman's spare keys by using a long stick to reach into her home, unlocking the door.
By the time Koh was notified that his assistance was no longer needed, he was already near to the woman's home and went to meet them.
The post alleged that Koh "looked really angry" and began scolding them, seeking $80 in fees and ignoring requests for him to check her door.
After Koh left, the elderly woman was purportedly in tears.
Following the incident, a Facebook user posted about the encounter which later went viral, causing him to be harassed by members of the public who called and sent aggressive messages to him.
Koh, 43, then filed a police report.
"This is very unfair to me and I've gotten [harassed] which is disrupting my business," he wrote on a response to the incident on his Facebook page.
Emphasising that he never shouted at the elderly woman, Koh shared that the argument began when her neighbour was rude to him.
Speaking with AsiaOne, Koh, a locksmith of 20 years, explained that he had responded to a call from a woman at around 6.40am that day.
The woman had allegedly requested Koh to open a lock, to which Koh agreed to but specified that his fees would cost $120.
He overheard a brief discussion with the elderly woman and realised he was dealing with a group of people.
"I asked if I could trouble her to relay the message that my fees are $120, no cancellation allowed," Koh told AsiaOne in Mandarin.
Koh claimed that the other party agreed to these terms, so he began making his way over from Tampines. The journey took him about 30 to 40 minutes, he added.
"I had just reached Yishun MRT station — because the auntie's home is close to the station — when I received a call from the same number asking if I was reaching soon," Koh recalled.
He said that he was about to reach when he received another call from a different woman, who he claimed was the one who made the viral Facebook post.
The woman purportedly instructed him not to come because they had already opened the door.
"I told her that this wasn't very fair because I'd already arrived," Koh said.
The woman then allegedly replied: "Don't you understand what I'm saying? Auntie doesn't need your help now."
Koh claimed that he explained that this was very unfair to him, as he had to get up early to do his job, only for this to be cancelled at the last minute.
However, the woman put down the call after that, Koh said.
When he reached her flat, Koh noted that the third neighbour who had originally called him was not there.
The remaining neighbour — the woman who made the Facebook post — then allegedly rudely commented that Koh appeared very upset.
Koh said he then explained to her that he was upset because he had to respond to such an early call that was cancelled after he had arrived, and that he wasn't taking his anger out on them.
When the elderly woman then requested that Koh fix her broken key, Koh said that he couldn't, explaining to AsiaOne that he didn't have such an equipment with him at the time.
The elderly woman then asked Koh how much she needed to pay, which Koh said was $80 — less than the original $120 they had agreed to — and proceeded to pay Koh.
"As I was leaving, my picture was taken — the same picture that was then uploaded to Facebook," Koh said.
Since then, he has been getting calls and messages from members of the public around the clock, scolding him and getting in the way of his work.
While Koh says that while he hasn't been too affected by these disturbances, he admitted that his mood has declined and his work has been disrupted.
"I tell not to listen to one side of the story, but both sides — but they insist on only listening to one side of it," he said.
Koh also shared with AsiaOne that last-minute cancellations like these are very common — about one in four if he's unlucky.
Customers may sometimes try to haggle with him or even no-show after he arrives, he said.
"I hope that people will be fair to those of us in this service line," Koh said. "You can't just cancel on us on a whim, it's not like we're not doing anything — we have to wake up early and rush down, and even fight rush hour traffic.
"Just one phrase from them, 'you don't need to come', and then they scold you — this isn't fair."
For more original AsiaOne articles, visit here.
