BYD passenger stands in Ang Mo Kio parking lot to reserve it, block other car

Two drivers were briefly at an impasse over a parking lot.

The drivers had been waiting in a carpark in Ang Mo Kio, and both moved to try and park in the lot after it was vacated.

The deadlock was broken when a passenger from one of the cars, a red BYD, got out and stood in the vacant lot to secure it.

The incident, shared to Facebook by user Ma Jian Ting on Dec. 31, 2024, took place at the carpark behind AMK Hub.

Used body to chope lot

When a white car parked just behind Ma's vehicle drove off, Ma did not immediately reverse into the vacated lot.

This prompted the BYD driver to proceed forward, with hazard lights on, seemingly to claim the lot.

Subsequently, Ma started reversing into the lot, but stopped when a woman in a red shirt got out of the BYD car and put her hand out.

As Ma backed off, the woman used her body to reserve the lot before gesturing at the BYD driver to take it.

After it was parked, both the woman and the driver used their phones to snap photos of Ma's car.

"Never in my life have I witnessed someone claim parking spaces like they were defending a sacred relic," Ma wrote in his post.

He also deemed the incident "a masterclass in selfishness" and territorial behaviour "straight out of a National Geographic special".

Mixed reactions from online users

Many online users sided with Ma in the comments as he had stopped closer to the vacant lot.

Some commended Ma for his patience, and criticised the BYD car's occupants for "entitled" behaviour.

However, others questioned Ma's reaction time, saying that he could have reversed more quickly when the lot was vacated.

In response, Ma explained that there were pedestrians and a motorcyclist moving through the carpark around his car at the time, and posted another video from his car's front camera to show that he had been waiting for them to pass before starting to back into the lot.

"I know it's not the fastest record time in reversing into the car park," Ma acknowledged.

He also wrote that when he saw the red BYD coming towards him, he was unsure of the driver's intention.

"The last thing I want is [to get into] an accident over a mere parking lot," he added.

Top image from Ma Jian Tang/Facebook