Dispute over $5 durian at Bedok ends with buyer calling the police

SINGAPORE: After the attendant at a fruit stall in Bedok refused to refund a buyer S$5 when he tried to return a durian that had gone bad, the buyer decided to call the police, especially since the attendant was holding a knife.

The attendant was also “clearly acting provocatively,” according to a report in Shin Min Daily News.

The incident occurred on Saturday (Dec 27) at Block 205, Bedok North Street 1.

The buyer, who identified himself as Mr Xie, 65, had paid S$5 for a kampung durian. Because he wanted to eat it right then and there, he opened the fruit and found that it had begun to spoil. Shin Min Daily News published a photo of the fruit Mr Xie had bought, which showed that parts of the durian had turned brown.

When he returned to the stall and asked for the fruit to be replaced, the attendant reportedly said no, since the durian had already been opened. He added that the coloring on the fruit was not unusual for its variety.

Mr Xie then asked for his payment to be refunded. Instead of doing so, the attendant then handed his mobile phone over to Mr Xie and told him he could call the police.

At the time, the attendant was handling a knife, which caused Mr Xie to be alarmed.

He then walked away from the stall and called the police.

Shin Min Daily News quoted the person who was in charge of the fruit stall, Mr Cai, as saying that while the stall would replace any durians that have gone bad, this did not appear to be the case with Mr Xie, who had bought a variety with white flesh which he found unsatisfactory.

The report noted that the police were called to the stall on the next day, but for another reason.

A 23-year-old woman, Ms Mei, said that she had purchased durians worth S$8 from the stall, paying an extra S$1 for packaging. She asked that the durian she bought be wrapped in plastic, which she claimed upset and angered the stall attendants, who she said repeatedly cursed and swore at her.

Because of the attendant’s attitude, she called the police.

Mr Cai claimed, however, that the incident was simply a misunderstanding, and that the attendant had been addressing his fellow stall workers, and not Ms Mei. /TISG

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