Customers & Yishun drink stall owner argue furiously over bringing own water bottle

A fight broke out at a coffee shop in Singapore between customers and a drink stall owner on the evening of Aug. 30.

The dispute, which was uploaded as a Facebook video on the same day, has since been the subject of much discussion.

While the original version has been removed, a copy of it remains hosted on Reddit.

It reportedly stemmed from a policy of not allowing outside food and drinks at the coffee shop.

No outside drinks at the coffeeshop

The man who was filming, and who appeared to be the owner, could be heard telling a family of three customers that outside food and drinks were not allowed.

The rule was apparently stated on a banner displayed at the coffee shop, and it included disallowing personal water bottles.

The wife of the family said that they brought their own water as they were avoiding sweet drinks.

To that, the owner replied that each place has its own rules. Children are allowed to bring their own drinks, he explained, but pointed out that the family was not allowed to do so as they were adults.

Argument

The father and son pair then argued with the owner, who was being taunted by the father.

The son, who held up his phone to film the exchange, told the owner that he was waiting for the owner to make the first move.

The owner replied he would remove the water bottle once it was placed on the table.

In a later part of the video, the owner took the water bottle from the table and placed it elsewhere, before the father took it back and placed it on the table again.

As the two parties continued arguing and the father got more animated, the son sarcastically told his father not to be agitated as they were "people with culture".

Customer's perspective

Following this incident, the son identified himself as "Brandon" and took to Instagram to share his family's side of the story.

He noted that some details could not be shared as a police report had been made and the matter was still under police investigation.

Confirming that the individuals involved were himself and his parents arguing with a drinks stall owner, Brandon added that he wanted to provide some context to the incident, as he felt the video circulating did not show the full sequence of events.

He had visited the coffee shop with his parents at about 7:30pm on Aug. 30 for dinner, where it took his father a few minutes to find a table.

Brandon then placed his bottle on the table before going to the toilet.

He claimed that while he was away, the drinks stall owner approached his father, saying that the water bottle could not be placed on the table, and had to be placed on a chair instead.

At the time, his mother was still queuing for their food, Brandon said, adding that he was shocked since they had not even ordered, but were already being approached in this manner.

Regular customers

As regular customers of the coffee shop, Brandon said his parents usually purchased drinks from the stall whenever they ate there.

He noted, however, that he was not planning to purchase any drinks that day as he usually did not consume sweet beverages.

After hearing about the issue with their water bottle, the family decided not to purchase any drinks as well.

Allegedly threw water bottle

Brandon claimed that the situation escalated after the owner explained the rule, then allegedly took the family's water bottle and threw it on the pathway outside the coffeeshop.

This apparently occurred twice, with Brandon's father picking up the bottle the first time and his mother doing so the second time.

That was when his father became "visibly angry and upset".

Brandon also alleged that the owner challenged his father to fight in the back alley, to which his father refused.

His father reportedly said that if there was an issue, it should be addressed openly rather than somewhere secluded.

"I do not believe that this is an appropriate way for a vendor to handle disagreements with customers," Brandon said.

Apology to LGBTQ+ community

He added that while both sides had recordings, he was unable to post his footage as the matter is under investigation, and would leave it to the authorities to assess the evidence instead.

Brandon also acknowledged that his father said "some harsh words", and explained that the anger was directed at the owner and not the LGBTQ+ community as a whole.

"We would also like to sincerely apologise to anyone within the LGBTQ+ community who may have felt hurt or offended by the words used during the incident," he said.

Noting that he has many friends who are part of the community, Brandon added that the family has "genuine respect" for them.

Towards the end of his account, the customer asked for privacy for his family while the matter is under investigation.

Following the incident, some online users have taken sides with the owner, saying he had a right to ban outside water.

Others questioned if the owner should touch a customer's private property.

Responding to Mothership's queries, the police confirm a report was lodged.