SINGAPORE: A Singaporean MRT commuter has sparked heated discussion online after calling out an elderly passenger who allegedly rushed to take a seat that had been vacated for a child.
The incident was shared on the r/SMRTRabak subreddit on Thursday (Jan 1), where the commuter posted a photo of the elderly man along with an account of what had happened.
According to the post, the commuter had stood up to offer their seat to a child when another passenger suddenly moved in and took the seat instead.
When the commuter confronted him, the elderly man allegedly brushed it off, responding, “I have my rights,” which only further fuelled the commuter’s anger.
“[I don’t care] if you’re an elderly, you’re an a**hole, you don’t deserve any respect, and I wish every misfortune upon you,” they wrote, expressing their frustration. “If you see this dude on the NEL, never give up your seat for him.”
“Never leave your seat enough space for them to rush in.”
The post quickly gained traction on the platform, drawing 872 upvotes and 90 comments as netizens piled in with their own takes and criticism.
One said, “Where in the Constitution does it say old people have to get a seat?”
Another pointed out the irony of the situation, saying, “Honestly, if this man has the agility to rush in to steal the seat, he probably isn’t in dire need of a seat in the first place, even as an elderly.”
A third remarked, “That is not a right; it is an entitlement. That’s for sure.”
A fourth shared that they no longer give up their seat unless someone explicitly asks, explaining that they live in the far west and often spend an hour or more travelling back from town. “It gets tiring that long, you know,” they said. “If they never ask, just don’t give. Why give up when they can stand for hours to buy a Toto/4D?”
A fifth added, “Never leave your seat enough space for them to rush in. Be very close to the seat till they take over. The only way for them to get the seat is by pushing you aside. That way, you have a reason to retaliate and push back. We should also start a norm to ram towards people who try to enter when we are trying to alight from the train.”
In other news, a Singapore-based TikToker has unwittingly become the internet’s latest source of entertainment after an image of what appears to be a police report he lodged over an alleged TikTok “shadow ban” began circulating online.
The document, which was shared by Facebook user Liao JunQin in the Complaint Singapore Facebook group on Sunday (Dec 28), shows the man venting his frustration over his declining viewership on the platform.
In the report, the TikToker claimed he felt “hidden, silenced, and cut off from the audience I have worked tirelessly to reach.”
Read more: TikToker files police report over alleged ‘shadow ban,’ draws mixed reactions from netizens
