A fight broke out between two families inside a lift at Tampines 1 shopping mall last Wednesday (July 5), resulting in a 71-year-old man losing three of his teeth.

The old man's daughter told Shin Min Daily News (Shin Min) that at the time, her family was taking the lift down from Level 4 of the mall to the carpark at Basement 2.

She was together with her parents, her friend, as well as her 17-year-old daughter.

It was around 7pm.

When the lift stopped at Level 3, a young couple walked in with two toddlers and a baby sleeping in a stroller.

There were now 10 occupants in the congested lift, before chaos ensued.

Started with an argument in the crowded lift

At some point, the stroller accidentally rolled onto the old man's foot.

In response, he asked the couple to move it further away from him.

This comment apparently angered the baby's mother.

The following exchange took place:

"If you're not happy, then use the escalator!"

To which the man's daughter said, "It's not like the lift belongs to you!"

This escalated into an argument between the two of them, and the old man raised an arm to try and stop it.

However, his gesture was allegedly misinterpreted by the baby's father as an attempt to harm the baby, so he punched the older man in the face.

The old man was allegedly hit more times as the lift descended.

This was until the lift doors opened at Level 1, and other mall-goers intervened to separate the two.

After the incident, the old man's daughter and her friend lodged a police report.

Old man's mouth left bloody, 3 teeth pulled out

Her friend, Yu, a 35-year-old manager, told Shin Min that the fight lasted for one to two minutes.

In an attempt to stop the fight, she also sustained bruises on her wrists.

Three of the old man's teeth had been loosened as a result of the incident, and had to be pulled out.

The man was also given eight days of medical leave, and was unable to wear his dentures for the next two months.

He said he felt wronged and that he was beaten for no reason.

Old man allegedly overturned stroller, injuring baby: Father

An anonymous business owner at the mall interviewed by Shin Min shared that during the incident, the baby was crying loudly and was bleeding from the forehead.

Paramedics subsequently stopped the bleeding and brought the baby to the hospital.

The shopowner let the couple with the stroller rest at her shop while waiting for the police.

There, she heard the father tell his side of the story.

He claimed that the old man's family had expressed their displeasure when their family entered the lift with the stroller in tow.

This led to an argument between their families, during which the other four women allegedly started hitting his wife.

Subsequently, the old man allegedly overturned the stroller, injuring his year-old baby on the forehead in the process.

The man claimed he didn't retaliate, but ushered his family out when the lift stopped at Basement 1.

Subsequently, he was about to re-enter the lift and settle matters with the old man, but the latter had continued taking the lift to Basement 2 before leaving the building.

In response to Mothership's queries, the police confirmed that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing.

Top image from Shin Min Daily News / Tampines 1 Facebook page.