Singapore – While it is a typical Singaporean habit to reserve seats at a hawker centre with a pack of tissue or a calling card, it would seem others are taking the chope culture to the next level – reserving parking spaces.
On July 17 (Wednesday), a video was posted on SG Road Vigilante’s Facebook page showing a man reserving a parking slot along Pepys Road and blocking the way from a waiting car so his colleagues could easily take the slot.
Perhaps it is not such common knowledge that a parking spot is a first-come-first-served kind of thing after all.
Fortunately, the waiting car which was allegedly the first in line to take the parking space caught the incident on camera.
According to the caption and footage time stamp, the incident occurred at 8:25 am at Pepys Road, off Pasir Panjang.
The camera footage showed a man in a blue shirt reserving a parking space in advance as a car was leaving the slot.
The man was a bit too eager and could be seen blocking the way for the exiting car at the start.
After stepping a few steps back, he let the car leave but immediately stands at the centre so that the waiting car, the one with the rightful claim to the spot, could not move any further.
The man was seen gesturing to another vehicle, not within view of the camera.
While he waited, he turned his back to the camera and took a long puff from the cigarette he was holding.
Eventually, a white Renault Megan arrived on the scene and took the choped space.
While the vehicle was parking, the man could be seen talking to someone off-camera.
Four men alighted from the Renault, and the group crossed the street as if what just happened was something they regularly did and left the driver in the waiting car stunned and still without a place to park.
Naturally, netizens quickly provided their observations on the incident, such as a lead to the identity of the group.
Many commented on their matching blue shirts and shared that it was the uniform of Japan Tobacco International at 438b Alexandra Road.
The public’s quick eyes also spotted that the man who choped the slot threw his cigarette on the ground and advised the camera recording owner to submit the footage to the National Environment Agency (NEA).
Others gave some tips on how to counterattack an attempt at chope parking spaces.
https://www.facebook.com/SGRVigilante/videos/732757080490489/?v=732757080490489
Read related: “Chope” parking space now a common practice?