Neatly dressed man’s habit of collecting leftovers at Tampines hawker centre leaves residents puzzled

SINGAPORE: A neatly dressed man has been spotted collecting leftover food from diners’ tables at a Tampines hawker centre, raising concerns about hygiene and leaving residents puzzled over why he does it.

Case details revealed that a 71-year-old resident who lives near the food centre had witnessed an uncle who looked to be in his sixties or seventies picking up leftover food from diners on several occasions. In an interview, the witness admitted that when he saw the man last week, he noticed that he avoids peak dining hours when he comes to the hawker centre to pick up food scraps from table to table. 

Furthermore, based on his observations, the man did not seem to be living in poverty with the way he was dressed. Moreover, there were employees who admitted that they had been noticing the man picking up leftover food for years now, but did not want to cause any trouble or conflict, so they did not try to stop him, as reported by Shin Min Daily News.

“He looked to be in his 70s, dressed cleanly, and changed his clothes every day, so we didn't dare say anything to him,” a female cleaner stated. 

When the witness asked the man the reason why he was doing such acts, he simply said that he did not want to waste any food and planned to take it home for dinner. 

“For some older people, it might just be that they don't want to waste food, so they pick up other people's leftovers to eat at home, but I'm still worried about hygiene,” the witness declared. 

The female cleaner also stated that she saw the man buying drinks from the food centre, and suspected that what he was doing may not be due to financial difficulties. 

There are a lot of people scavenging for leftover food at different hawker centres in the country, and for some, it is difficult to stop them from doing so. Concerned citizens have been trying to remind these people that picking up leftover food is unhygienic, but some refused to accept help. 

Indeed, these types of incidents have raised questions about hygiene. For now, concerned residents and cleaners say they hope greater awareness can help prevent health risks without judging those people involved.

In other news, there was a report that a 60-year-old man was left disgusted after finding a small cockroach inside a steamed bun he bought from a coffee and bread stall at a Singapore hawker centre. 

Unfortunately, the victim said he had already taken two bites before noticing the insect.

Read more about the news story here.