SINGAPORE - It's not something the coffee shop patrons were used to seeing.
A man tossing his two-year-old son several times in the air, then mumbling to himself.
It was enough concern for someone to call the police.
On Tuesday, patrons at the coffee shop at Block 18, Bedok South Road, were surprised to see the man tossing his child in the air several times at about 1.50pm, reported Shin Min Daily News.
A reader in her 50s, who had witnessed the incident, told the Chinese daily the sight frightened several customers.
She said: "The man was tossing the child over and over again. He was muttering something we didn't understand.
"He would stroke the child's cheek one moment, then he would pinch the child the next moment."
A nearby shop owner said he went up to the man to stop him.
The 47-year-old said: "I was worried that the man would not catch the child after tossing him in the air. It would have been disastrous if the child fell onto the ground."
He told the paper the man put the child down after his warning.
But the man later stood outside and started shouting.
Said the shop owner: "We didn't know what the man was saying. He then picked up the child again. I stopped him once more and called the police."
The police told the paper they received a call at about 2pm and a man in his 30s had been taken away.
Police investigations are ongoing.
Another witness, who declined to be named, told the Chinese paper that the man had taken his shirt off when he first came to the coffee shop and lifted the toddler towards a fan.
The woman said: "Luckily the fan had a cover on it, otherwise the child would have been injured."
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, the toddler's mother, who declined to be named, said her husband had acted strangely after losing more than $100,000 on football bets.
She said her husband owed his bank a lot of money after becoming addicted to football betting two to three years ago.
She said: "My husband complained that he heard strange sounds two or three days ago.
"I thought he was hallucinating. Then he began mumbling to himself.
"I told him not to go to work and to rest at home," she said.
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Samaritans of Singapore: 1800-221 4444
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seems like he owe lots of pple $$$ 
