Singapore – An uncle was spotted clearing tables voluntarily at the Telok Blangah Crescent Market and Food Centre. He received a small angbao from a kind stranger who witnessed his actions.
On Wednesday (Feb 24), one Douglas Loh took to Facebook to share his experience of coming into a food centre with clean tables during the early hours instead of the usual leftover food and plates from the night before.
“Most of you early birds like me will agree that it is easier to tio 4D than to see clean tables at our food centres in the early wee hours,” said Mr Loh.
“Tables were usually strewn with leftover food, cutleries and beer bottles left behind either by the previous late night drinking revellers or the early risers after their breakfast; before the cleaners turned up at 7 am.”
Mr Loh was pleasantly surprised when he was greeted by “columns of pristine clean tables” when he entered the food centre for breakfast over the last few days.
He then noticed the person responsible for the surprising event – “a solo limping uncle going about clearing all the tables of food debris and used tissues briskly.”
The uncle would also return all the trays and cutleries by stacking them neatly at the return-tray stations.
Mr Loh noted that the uncle was not in uniform, nor did he have any pushcart or cleaning equipment with him.
The witness’ suspicions were confirmed when he approached the uncle to thank him for his kind efforts. “He (uncle) shared with me that he lived nearby and he had lost his job recently, and he just wanted to make himself useful by volunteering to clean up the place before the cleaners turned up,” said Mr Loh.
As the uncle’s story made his day, Mr Loh also made the uncle’s day by giving him a small angbao. “This uncle is truly a hero we do not deserve.”/TISG
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