A potted plant living outside a bakery in River Valley had its leaves brutally ripped off by an unknown passerby.
Left naked and wronged, the plant is now receiving help from the bakery's owners, who are trying to "revive" it.
What happened
On the morning of Apr. 27, 2024 at about 7am, staff at the French bakery Pâtisserie CLÉ were getting ready to begin work when they heard banging sounds coming from outside the shop.
When they ventured out to check on the noise, they were met with a horrific sight — their pet plant was completely leafless, with leaves strewn about on the ground.
Image from Pâtisserie CLÉ
"We were very upset as this plant was gifted to us when we first opened our Lucky Heights outlet and has been with us for several years. Unfortunately, it was destroyed not long after moving it to our River Valley outlet," one of the bakery's owners, Joy Chiam, told Mothership.
When they checked footage from the CCTV camera stationed outside their store, the owners discovered something heartbreaking had happened to their beloved plant.
Assault on plant
According to clips uploaded onto the bakery's TikTok, a woman carrying a backpack was seen standing by the plant, forcefully tugging on its leaves.
Gif courtesy of Pâtisserie CLÉ
The woman, who looked to be slightly taller than the plant, yanked out handfuls of its leaves and threw them onto the ground.
Gif courtesy of Pâtisserie CLÉ
Chiam stated that the plant was "completely wrecked" by the time the woman was done with it.
Photo courtesy of Pâtisserie CLÉ
While someone else tried to throw away the plant, the bakery's owners haven't quite given up on it yet.
"Please don't throw my plant, we're trying to revive it," Chiam said.
Image via @cle.sg/TikTok
She added that the plant shop Jungalore "kindly delivered" a new plant to them on Apr. 29.
"We are extremely touched by their act of kindness," she said.
Image via @patisserie.cle/Instagram
Justice for plant
The plant's plight sparked outrage and sympathy among plant supporters online.
"Why the plant?" some users commented on the TikTok video, voicing that the "innocent" plant had done nothing wrong.
Comment on TikTok
Comment on TikTok
Some people speculated that the incident might have been a publicity stunt, to which the bakery replied: "Definitely not!! Our plant really got destroyed."
Others suggested that the woman might have been a disgruntled ex-employee or customer, but Chiam clarified with Mothership that they did not recognise her.
"We have no idea why such an act was committed on our plant," Chaim said.
Chiam said that she'd made a police report, but there haven't been any updates in the investigation as of yet.
As for the abused plant, she said it might take months for it to show signs of recovery.
Top images via Pâtisserie CLÉ