SINGAPORE — Videos showing a Thai-speaking woman causing a ruckus and aggressively tossing items around a Charles and Keith fashion store in Taiwan have gone viral on social media.

Reports from both Taiwanese and Thai media stated that the incident took place last Sunday (June 30) at the fashion brand’s outlet in Taipei 101, Taiwan’s tallest building. 

Charles and Keith was founded in Singapore in 1996 and has expanded its business to several countries.

The woman, who was barefoot and wearing a light pink dress, was filmed by onlookers as she flung several handbags and items of footwear off the store’s display racks.

Several of the store’s employees were also seen trying to calm the situation without much success. When confronted, the woman made threatening gestures at them.

One online user on X (formerly Twitter) with the handle "dabowagaga" published last Sunday two videos depicting the scenes. The post with the videos had received 18.6 million views as of Thursday afternoon.

Newsflare's website stated that the woman can be heard in one video speaking in Thai: “No water? Buy everything, I'll take over your entire store. What are you looking at? I'll buy everything. You work for me now.”

There was no explanation of the context of her comments or what she meant by them.

In another video, the woman can be seen stepping out of the store and shouting in a hostile manner at a crowd of more than 20 onlookers who had gathered outside the store to observe her.

A different clip showed the woman hitting and trying to manhandle a Charles and Keith staff member while surrounded by the mall's security personnel.

Newsflare quoted a bystander who took videos at the scene as saying: “I was scared. I felt like the person could attack me or anybody else. There was no reason for (the) behaviour.”

A reporter from Taiwan's 24-hour news channel TVBS News said that the woman “suddenly became irrational while walking in the mall”, and that many shoppers were “astonished by her peculiar behaviour”.

News outlet Thai PBS World stated that the police eventually intervened and the woman was taken to the Songde branch of Taipei City Hospital with suspicions that she was under the influence of drugs.

Despite the woman speaking Thai, media outlets from Thailand and Taiwan reported differing information on whether the woman was a citizen from Thailand.

Users on X ran wild trying to guess why the woman had behaved the way she did.

One wrote in Chinese: “It feels like she took drugs or drank alcohol, her walking is unsteady.”  

Another suggested that she may be having a mental breakdown.

In response to TODAY's queries, a Charles and Keith Group spokesperson said on Friday that its staff at Taipei 101 "promptly took appropriate measures after the incident and assisted the police and medical personnel in handling the customer". 

"We firmly believe that everyone may need help at some point, and we will continue to monitor the situation and cooperate with relevant departments to provide the necessary assistance to the customer," the spokesperson added. 

"We express our deep concern and sympathy to all those affected by this incident, including our employees and customers present."