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A woman stuck a paper printout of a Google search result at a coffee shop stall two days after she accused a Toa Payoh hawker's wife of not washing her hands once she was done serving a visually-impaired customer with a guide dog.
On Jun. 25, the owner, Michael Poh, of Poh Kee Chicken Rice at Block 206 Toa Payoh North, took to Facebook to share about his encounter with the customer.
"All dogs are filthy"
On Jun. 23, a woman accused Poh's wife of not washing her hands after serving a visually-impaired woman who was accompanied by her guide dog.
The visually-impaired woman and her guide dog were regular customers, Poh also revealed.
Poh's wife informed the woman nicely that she had washed her hands, but the woman claimed she did not see her do it.
Poh's wife pointed out that the woman was seated a distance away from the stall and that it was not possible for her to have seen any hand-washing inside the stall.
However, the woman insisted that she did not see it.
Kept insisting dogs are not allowed
Poh then came out of the stall to ask the woman what the issue was, and the woman told him that dogs are not allowed in food places.
Poh told the woman that the dog was allowed on the premise as it was a guide dog that belonged to a visually-impaired person, and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) allows guide dogs to accompany their owners into food places.
"If she doesn't know this, I am more than happy to show her proof and educate her on this matter," Poh wrote.
However, Poh shared that the woman was still not happy and told him that she would "make things difficult for [him because] no matter what dog, dogs are dogs".
In the comments section, Poh shared that the woman had also said, "all dogs are filthy".
He also shared that the guide dog was not doing anything, and was just lying on the ground of the coffee shop, waiting for its owner to finish her meal.
One commenter asked if the woman complaining knew what a guide dog was, and Poh replied that the woman knew it was a guide dog, but had insisted that "dogs are dogs, all are filthy".
Printed out a screenshot of a Google search result
On Saturday, Jun. 24, the woman apparently gave one of the coffee shop's staff a printout of a screenshot of regulations that stated that dogs are not allowed in food shops.
But it applied to pet dogs.
Photo via Poh Kee Chicken Rice/Facebook
Poh clarified with the staff that it was a guide dog, and not a pet.
Came back to stall when it was closed
On Sunday, Jun. 25, when his stall was closed, the same woman was allegedly seen on closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage entering Poh's stall to paste another copy of the same printout on his cash register table.
The person seen in the video apparently milled about for a bit before committing the act.
Poh wrote: "Come on la, do [you] know that [you] are breaking the law and criminal offence? By entering private premises and pasting this notice, do [you] know that [you] have committed breaking and entering and vandalism?"
He also shared that he has since made a police report.
"Who knows what audacious things she will do in the future if I do not make a report[?] She may add poison [to] my things and in the end, my customers and me have to suffer... Pasting paper like this, [you] think [you] loan shark meh[?]"
Guide dogs are allowed at coffee shops
On his personal Facebook page, Poh stated that he was "damn angry" and expressed hope that the police would be able to help him.
"Spread the word, guide dogs are allowed in food shops," he concluded.
According to SFA, guide dogs are allowed into food retail establishments.
Mothership has reached out to Guide Dogs Singapore for comments.
Top photos via Unsplash & Poh Kee Chicken Rice/Facebook