SINGAPORE: A 57-year-old food stall owner has been arrested for voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means after an altercation with debt collectors at his Simei HDB flat.
On 10 July 2025, three employees from SG Collectors, a licensed debt recovery agency, visited the man to recover a debt of S$12,412.20 owed to a supplier. The incident was first reported by Lianhe Zaobao.
According to one of the collectors, surnamed Lin, the team had been attempting to contact the debtor since September 2024. They visited his food stall or flat two to four times each month but had failed to meet him in person until the recent visit.
When the collectors finally confronted him at his flat, tensions quickly rose. Footage of the incident was recorded by one of the collectors and later shared by SG Collectors on Facebook the same night.
The video shows both parties exchanging taunts through the gate. One collector can be heard challenging the man repeatedly, saying, “Do you dare hit [us]?”
Matters escalated when one of the collectors kicked the gate. The debtor retrieved a wooden stick from inside his home, opened the gate, and approached them while hiding the stick behind his back. He was then seen spitting at one of the collectors.
SG Collectors stated that their employees were leaving when the man reappeared wielding a golf club. In the footage, he holds the club while both parties continue to hurl vulgarities.
An attempt by the collectors to wrestle the club away caused the video to become shaky before blacking out. Clashing noises were audible as the struggle continued off-camera.
Lin told Zaobao that he was struck on the arm with the golf club and stepped aside to call the police.
He later required stitches at a hospital. Another employee sustained minor injuries but did not need hospitalisation.
In response to media queries, the police confirmed they received a call for assistance at 2:25pm on 10 July 2025. They stated that two men, aged 36 and 39, suffered minor injuries but refused conveyance.
SG Collectors’ Facebook post included images of Lin’s hospital treatment and medical bill.
They also claimed the debtor had previously used vulgar language and intimidation tactics during earlier contact attempts, including threats such as, “You don’t know who I am.”
The agency acknowledged that its staff also exchanged harsh words during the confrontation.
“One of our collectors responded in the heat of the moment,” SG Collectors wrote, adding that they would take internal steps to reinforce professional conduct among employees when provoked.
Despite this, the company maintained its stance that “no level of verbal provocation justifies physical violence”.
Police investigations into the incident are ongoing.
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