Yishun 5-cent kopi saga: Coffee shop denies patron's claim that her 'kopi-o was poured away'

A Yishun coffee shop, which drew ire from netizens after a patron complained that her two five-cent coins were rejected and her kopi-o poured away, has come forward with their version, denying that her drink was discarded.

In fact, the patron wasn't even the one who ordered the drink, said the establishment. 

In a Facebook post shared on Tuesday (March 29), Sally Chan claimed that she ordered a kopi-o at this coffee shop located along Yishun Street 22.

The woman said she attempted to pay for the $1.20 drink with coins including two five-cents, but the drink stall assistant shouted at her and emptied the drink into a sink, telling her that she doesn't accept five-cent coins and allegedly told her to "go away".

On her Facebook post, Chan questioned "Five cents [is] not money?" adding that the stall assistant was also "rude and loud" to her.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/groups/complaintsingapore/permalink/1392087521238138/[/embed]

When contacted by AsiaOne, an employee of the coffee shop who only wanted to be identified as Kee, said that the complainant Sally Chan was not the customer involved in the dispute.

Kee said that his staff had "repeatedly" pointed a male patron to a sign that said it does not accept five-cent coins as payment.

Kee, admitting that the stall assistant's voice "might have gotten a bit loud" during the exchange, added: "The drink was not poured away, and we didn't collect the money [from the patron]. [The patron] chose not to listen, so maybe things became a bit agitated."

That Facebook post attracted over 200 comments since it was posted, with some questioning why that coffee shop can't even accept two five-cent coins. 

Others came to the defence of the stall assistant, with one saying that he had patronised that coffee shop before and the stall assistant was friendly to him.

Under the Currency Act, if retailers do not wish to accept a particular denomination of currency notes or coins, they should display notices prominently at their premises.

AsiaOne has reached out to Sally Chan for comment.

chingshijie@asiaone.com