Here's a breakdown of the MRT saga involving couple accused of hogging reserved seat

He says, she says.

Mandy How | May 18, 2017, 11:23 AM

While public transport sagas are common enough these days, this one takes the cake (not literally, later kena fine) in terms of drama and suspense.

It started on May 15 when Facebook user Whing Jenny complained about an inconsiderate couple apparently hogging the reserved seat with their child.

On the same night, the husband replied in a post of his own that Jenny was "blatantly lying". The incident has since escalated into a police case.

We break down the sequence of events for you:

1) Whing Jenny accuses a couple on the train of being "inconsiderate, unreasonable, and selfish" in a Facebook post

She claims to have requested for the seat with an "excuse me please", but the wife had "adamantly [refused] to move her son's legs" and told her to accept whatever disturbance that should come with choosing to take the seat.

Her post is here:

Unfortunately, the post, which made no mention of the couple's nationality, resulted in a deluge of xenophobic comments, but there were others (especially mothers) who displayed empathy towards the couple.

2) The husband replied that Jenny had wrongly accused them, and gives his side of the story

A summary of his points:

1) His son had occupied the seat for the majority of the trip, and only climbed on his mother's lap in a bout of sleepiness.

2) No one had asked for the seat, including Jenny.

3) There was at least one other seat available, as seen in the picture.

4) He is going to make a police report.

True to his word, a formal complaint was lodged after:

Many comments on his post expressed outrage on his behalf, and one commenter even helped to remove Jenny's original post on another Singaporean news site. Another noted that her Facebook page is full of complaints.

His post is here:

3) Whing Jenny replies again, insisting that she was not the one telling lies

A summary of her points:

1) There were no empty seats when she entered the train, and she had walked past two rows of seats (which was one cabin, we presume) to get to the reserved seat pictured.

2) She thinks it is a matter of graciousness - that the small child should not have "invaded" a seat meant for the elderly and physically challenged.

3) She did not confront them directly as because they were "aggressive" and she was a "single helpless lady".

4) She reiterates that she had posted the truth with no malicious intent, and only hopes to get "feedback and opinion" from the public.

Strangely enough, she refers to herself in third person at one point.

Her post here:

However, there were plenty of caustic remarks in response to her latest post, directed at Jenny herself. There has also been an outpouring of support for the husband.

 

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