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Hawker, 76, closes Serangoon vegetarian stall after rental allegedly rises from S$930 to S$3,000
Nevertheless, the stall owner said he plans on reopening the stall somewhere else.
A 76-year-old man and his wife decided to close their vegetarian food stall at a Serangoon coffeeshop after the new operator allegedly raised their rental from S$930 to over S$3,000 per month.
However, while he was moving out of the coffeeshop on Feb. 28, the exiting operator allegedly "kept rushing him and even cursed at him", reported Shin Min Daily News.
When the man, surnamed Liang (transliteration from Chinese), asked the exiting operator for a refund of two days' rental as he closed his stall on Feb. 26, the latter apparently rejected his request.
Eventually, Liang alerted the police, and the matter was resolved with the help of police mediation.
Upon learning about the incident, the new operator of the coffeeshop also arrived at the scene and refunded Liang two days' rental, which amounted to S$62, from his own pocket.
Stall in operation for over 10 years
According to Shin Min, Liang was the owner of Shang De Vegetarian, a food stall that had been in operations for over 10 years.Liang told the Chinese daily that he initially operated his stall along Circuit Road before moving to its latest location at 566 Serangoon Road coffeeshop.
Before running the stall, Liang joined his older brother in Denmark and worked in the food and beverage industry for over ten years before returning to Singapore.
Liang's account of what happened on Feb. 28
Liang shared with Shin Min that he decided to close his stall after learning that the new operator will be renovating the coffeeshop and that his new monthly rental might triple."I am just running a small business, and I only earn enough to get by. I can't afford such rent. I may bid for a stall at a government-owned hawker centre to continue running my business," he added.
As the coffeeshop would be handed over to the new operator on Feb. 28, Liang said the exiting operator asked him to empty his stall by then.
However, as he and his wife are both in their 70s, they "fell slightly behind schedule" in cleaning up their stall on Friday.
He was taken aback when the exiting operator allegedly "rushed him" while he was moving his belongings in the morning.
"I already informed him that I would be moving everything away by 6pm. [At that time,] there was only one refrigerator left waiting to be taken away. I don't understand why he was so aggressive," said Liang.
Response from exiting operator
In response to Liang's allegations, the exiting operator told Shin Min that the coffeeshop had informed all stallholders that they would need to empty their stalls before Mar. 1 so that the venue can be handed over to the new operator for renovation.When he noticed that Liang had yet to empty the vegetarian stall on Feb. 28, he became worried that he might not be able to hand over on time and decided to "approached Liang to find out more".
"However, he told me, 'It's none of your business' and said he would liaise directly with the coffee shop owner. These comments made me feel disrespected.
Although I am only the operator of the coffeeshop, the stall owners pay their rentals to me, and they also signed their lease with me," added the exiting operator.
He also admitted that he had spoken "inappropriately" on Friday, adding that he was caught up in the heat of the moment.
As for why he did not refund Liang two days' rental, the exiting operator said that all stalls were closed on Feb. 26, but the coffeeshop owner did not return the rental to him.
"How can I give back the rental to the stallholders?" he asked.
Diners patronised Liang's stall on its last day
According to Shin Min, many old customers patronised Liang's stall for one last time on Feb. 26.One of these diners was Workers' Party chief and Leader of Opposition Pritam Singh, who also posted a photo of himself with Liang and Liang's wife on Instagram.
Liang said he was touched by the support from his customers.
He added that even though he and his wife are in their silver years, they enjoy good health and are "young at heart".
Hence, they do not plan on retiring and will reopen their stall for business after a bit of rest.
Top images via Shin Min Daily News & Google Maps
