'If not for China, there's no S'pore': Woman with child accused of queue-cutting at Universal Studios S'pore retorts during heated exchange

A woman with a child was confronted on video for allegedly cutting the queue at Universal Studios Singapore (USS).

The confrontation was subsequently widely circulated online as the argument got heated and the woman was heard saying, "If not for China, there's no Singapore."

The clip was watched more than 1.2 million times after it was shared by one Facebook account.

What video showed

The dispute involved a man behind the camera and a woman, who had her three children, including a teenage boy, with her.

Uploaded to TikTok on Aug. 18, the video was apparently filmed by a man who kept his camera trained on the woman with the child.

The woman could be seen using her mobile phone to film the man in return, as both parties verbally sparred.

The woman could be heard asking in Mandarin: "Do you think only you can film me?"

"China best"

The argument then took a nationalistic turn as the woman rebutted: "What's wrong with Chinese people? Do they embarrass you? Aren't you ethnically Chinese?"

She then told the man, "If there were no Chinese people, Singapore would not count for anything."

The man responded sarcastically, saying, "Chinese people are the greatest".

"China best," he added.

Another man subsequently joined the woman and her family.

At one point he also took out his phone to film the incident.

Reactions

Many commenters berated the woman, while others defended her.

One commenter said, "Coming here as a tourist, you need to follow our rules. In Singapore, you have to queue up."

Another wrote, "How embarrassing for the family! Please don't affect the children with your arrogance."

However, some others dismissed the matter as a minor issue that does not deserve such a full-blown argument, and advised against stereotyping all Chinese people based on one individual's behaviour.

"Don't argue over [petty] things, just let it be, after all she has a little baby, an old man and kids with her," one wrote.

"Remember, it's a big nation, the majority are well mannered."

Others said the woman with the child could have joined the queue as her parents or in-laws were already in line, and she should have informed the party behind her about her intentions.

Both sides could have also settled the issue amicably.

Moreover, it was not entirely clear how the argument started in the first place and if either party provoked the other to get them to react adversely.

RWS statement

Resorts World Sentosa released a statement about the incident on Aug. 20.

"At RWS, we uphold the values of courtesy, respect and queuing etiquette, and expect our guests to treat fellow visitors with consideration to ensure everyone can have an enjoyable visit," it said.

It added that "this matter was resolved".

Top images via lunachloe0573/TikTok