Young man praised for wiping up tea spill on MRT using his own T-shirt

SINGAPORE: A passenger shared a photo on social media, showing how a young man mopped spilt tea on the MRT using his T-shirt. He was praised for his “civic-mindedness.” 

On the Facebook group Singapore MRT System, a netizen named Julie Tan wrote: “This young man actually took his spare T-shirt to mop up spilled drink from an Indian passenger.” 

She also stated that she was sharing the incident to commend the young man for his “excellent and exceptional civic consciousness.”

The post garnered more than 700 comments and more than 300 shares, with netizens sharing their thoughts and opinions on the matter

One netizen commented that although the post highlighted the kindness of the youth, it had several issues. “Firstly, we shouldn’t judge others for not assisting — we don’t know their reasons. Secondly, mentioning race is unnecessary. The focus should simply be on the positive act itself, rather than shaming the passengers who didn’t help,” the comment stated. 

Another comment reminded everyone that there is a reason why food and drinks are not allowed on MRTs and buses, and why fines exist. 

“MRT staff need to deploy people on board to check those drinking, eating & spilling, pass urine, etc.,” a related comment said. 

A netizen also commended the parents of the young man by stating, “Well brought up young man. Kudos to his parents, too, for investing time, love and patience in their children. I hope more families can take the time to nurture their children similarly, too.” 

“So Heartwarming to know there are still kind and civic-minded people out there,” another comment declared. 

However, despite the commendable behaviour of the young man, some netizens faulted the post for bringing up race. 

“Though the action by the ‘culprit’ is definitely condemnable and the action taken by the kind passenger in cleaning the mess, commendable, this post will be reported for the racist intones it has,” a comment said. 

“There is no one race or nationality that is better than the other!…. Let’s all not be judgmental and be clear on this….being caring and responsible is in one’s inner-self!….no doubt, upbringing plays a part,” another comment stated.