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A 31-year-old man was arrested after he spat and cursed at a couple who own a grocery shop at Block 332 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 -- all because the arrested man was unable to make payment using the PayNow function.

Drunk man first yelled at shop owner's pregnant wife

Li, the 28-year-old grocery shop owner, told Shin Min Daily News that at around 8am on Saturday, Dec. 10, the drunk man apparently staggered into the shop with a can of beer in hand.

The man approached the counter to buy a packet of cigarettes.

At that time, Li's five-month pregnant wife, 32, was manning the store while he was resting upstairs.

Li's wife stated that the man was unable to indicate what brand of cigarettes he wanted, and selected one based off her recommendation.

The man had intended to scan the QR code to make payment via PayNow, the mobile payment facility, but his transfer could not go through.

He then started yelling at Li's wife.

Li's wife was not fluent in English, but she understood he was growing frustrated over being unable to make payment due to his increasingly aggressive demeanour.

At one point, the man leaned his head on the cash register, which startled Li's wife, who then phoned her husband for help.

Threatened to punch the shop owner to death

Li rushed down to the shop's premises and claimed he detected a strong stench of alcohol on the man.

He asked the man to calm down and turned to his wife to explain the situation, but the man continued to hurl vulgarities at him.

The man then allegedly raised his fist and began to threaten Li.

He allegedly said:, "You think I don't dare to hit you? I'll kill you with one punch."

Li immediately called the police, but when he turned around to put the cigarettes back on the counter, the man allegedly spat at him.

Li asked his wife to take a photo of the man.

The man left soon after, and the whole debacle lasted about 10 minutes.

Arrested by the police

The police later confirmed that a 31-year-old man was arrested for causing annoyance while drunk, violating Section 14 (2) of the Liquor Control Act.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Li also stated that the man was no stranger -- he had visited the shop on several occasions in the past, but he is no longer welcomed.

The man had apparently visited the shop in March with a friend to buy alcohol.

Back then, he was also unable to make payment with PayNow and got angry at the cashier.

He was eventually pulled away by his friend.

Li's wife said she was glad that her foetus was not affected.

She said she seldom works at the Ang Mo Kio shop, and if such incidents were to happen again, she will get someone to accompany her at the shop's premises.

Top image from Shin Min Daily News and Google Maps