Woman who spat at Nex Shopping Centre KFC staff convicted for harassment

Singapore – A woman who spat on a KFC employee last year, telling the manager she would wait for her and her whole family to die, was convicted in court on Thursday (Jan 28).

A video of Lin Si Ting, 43, circulated online last Apr 22, 2020. She was found spitting on a staff member after waiting for her order at the KFC outlet in Nex Shopping Centre.

It was reported by straitstimes.com that Ms Lin had waited for her order for six minutes before approaching the counter to shout at the staff. She asked what was taking so long and demanded for her food to be served to her immediately.

A 40-year-old woman working as the service manager apologised to Ms Lin and explained that they were processing the orders received before hers. The manager also informed Ms Lin to wait about five more minutes for them to prepare her meal.

Hearing the advice, Ms Lin was displeased and demanded a refund if the staff could not serve her food at once.

The manager agreed to a refund while asking for Ms Lin’s receipt. The latter threw the piece of paper at the manager.

The video that made its rounds online was of Ms Lin spewing a string of vulgarities at the staff while her face mask was pulled down. She also pointed at the manager and said, “Wait for you to die, wait for your whole family to die.”

Ms Lin then spat twice at the victim, with spittle landing on the woman’s arm, the report noted.

A few minutes after taking her cash and walking off, Ms Lin returned, claiming her refund was less than what she paid initially.

The staff checked with their records and confirmed they refunded correctly. Ms Lin began shouting once more while the staff called the police for assistance. Ms Lin left the premises before the police arrived.

Ms Lin pleaded guilty to one count each of harassment and using criminal force on the staff. Another charge under the Covid-19 regulations will be considered for sentencing.

The court heard that Ms Lin has schizophrenia and is undergoing treatment. District Judge May Mesenas called for a report to determine the accused’s suitability for a Mandatory Treatment Order (MTO).

Ms Lin is scheduled to appear back in court on Feb 25 for sentencing.

If found guilty, the penalty for causing intentional harassment is a fine of up to S$5,000, imprisonment of up to six months, or both.

Furthermore, she could also be jailed for up to three months, fined up to S$1,500, or both for using criminal force on a person./TISG

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Woman spits on KFC staff, saying, “Wait for your whole family to die”