Man fined S$4,000 for brawl at Balestier bak kut teh shop

SINGAPORE — Angry that he was ignored by a waitress at an eatery, Tay Soo Yong grabbed chopsticks from a table and flung them in her direction, twice.

On Tuesday (Jan 23), the 51-year-old, one of two men accused of causing a ruckus at Kian Lian 365 Bak Kut Teh shop last year, was fined S$4,000 after pleading guilty to the offence.

Toh Kian Teck, 53, was also charged with the offence under the Protection from Harassment Act, for causing harrassment, alarm or distress through the use of threatening language or behaviour. Toh’s case will be heard separately at a later date.

On Aug 19 last year, after a night out drinking, the two men and two other friends went to the shop selling pork rib soup in Balestier.

Toh yelled in Hokkien that he wanted to order some food. Ms Cheng Meihui, a waitress there who did not understand Hokkien, was retrieving an iPad to take their orders and did not respond.

Toh became agitated when he thought he was being slighted, and threw a chopstick in her direction from where he was seated.

Tay did the same, throwing a handful of chopsticks twice at her.

Toh continued to cause a scene in the shop, flinging the cutlery holder in Ms Cheng’s direction, telling her not to “be so arrogant”. He also threw a chair at a rack which contained snacks.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Dora Tay said that Toh then pushed an industrial food steamer containing buns, and it fell to the ground and broke into pieces.

Fearing for Ms Cheng’s safety, a dishwasher working at the shop tried to stop Toh. Tay also tried to pull Toh back.

The duo, along with their two friends, later left the shop, but not before Toh overturned a table and kicked at two chairs.

The court was told that the damages amounted to more than S$2,000. The fracas was also captured on surveillance cameras at the eatery, and the footage appeared later on Facebook.

Tay, who was unrepresented, could have been jailed up to six months, and/or fined up to S$5,000.