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Send the dirt back to Europe where they belong
The Chinatown fruit seller who was accused of being rude to an American tourist in a viral video taken by the latter has spoken up to share her side of the story.
In the Instagram video posted on Tuesday (Feb 10), the seller is seen staring and asking the tourist behind the camera, "You want to buy or you want to ask?" The seller then continues, "If you got money [sic]", before an older man intervenes in a bid to de-escalate the situation.
The recording ends as the man and fruit seller get into a shouting match, with the uncle calling the seller "very rude".
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News on Friday (Feb 13), the seller said that she was triggered by the tourists' questions and also claimed that they had manhandled the fruit.
The seller, who did not give her name, said the tourist had come in a group of around 10 persons and they were standing in front of the stall for about 10 minutes before the altercation occurred.
"If they had only been standing there, I wouldn't have said anything. But they started to squeeze and press [the fruits], that's why I asked them if they had the intention to buy," said the woman.
She added that the group then "bombarded" her with questions over the price.
She was further aggravated by a person in the group who did not have enough cash when it was time to pay.
"[They] asked so many questions only to tell me that they only have $2. [They] then asked if I accept payment by US dollars or credit card," said the seller.
The seller was also irked after one of the tourists asked if they could buy 200g of grapes, instead of the 1kg bag displayed.
"I felt they were just trying to be difficult and didn't really have the intention to buy," said the shopkeeper.
"My conscience is clear. All our prices are clearly displayed here, and I always do my best to serve customers. It's just that when we occasionally encounter unreasonable tourists, it's hard not to feel angry."
In response to Shin Min's queries however, one tourist in the group refuted the seller's allegations, denying that they pressed on the fruit.
They had asked the seller about the price of rambutans only to receive a rude response, said the tourist, Shanice (transliteration), which triggered her to record the subsequent interaction.
Shanice told Shin Min that she was in Singapore on Feb 7 with her family and came across the fruit stall in Chinatown.
She claimed that the stall displayed only the prices of some fruits and not all.
"My aunt wanted to know the price of the rambutans, and the seller immediately replied, 'Do you want to ask or you want to buy?' and just stared at us. I felt her attitude was unacceptable and decided to record the interaction and put it online," said Shanice.
While the encounter was unpleasant, the experience did not ruin her impression in Singapore, said Shanice.
"It's a beautiful and clean country," she added.
Shanice also took the opportunity to thank the 'uncle' in the clip who tried to mediate the situation.
"He was very kind and helpful, we're grateful that he stepped forward to help us," she added.
'My conscience is clear': Chinatown fruit seller accused of being rude claims tourists manhandled fruit with no intention to buy
The Chinatown fruit seller who was accused of being rude to an American tourist in a viral video taken by the latter has spoken up to share her side of the story.
In the Instagram video posted on Tuesday (Feb 10), the seller is seen staring and asking the tourist behind the camera, "You want to buy or you want to ask?" The seller then continues, "If you got money [sic]", before an older man intervenes in a bid to de-escalate the situation.
The recording ends as the man and fruit seller get into a shouting match, with the uncle calling the seller "very rude".
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News on Friday (Feb 13), the seller said that she was triggered by the tourists' questions and also claimed that they had manhandled the fruit.
The seller, who did not give her name, said the tourist had come in a group of around 10 persons and they were standing in front of the stall for about 10 minutes before the altercation occurred.
"If they had only been standing there, I wouldn't have said anything. But they started to squeeze and press [the fruits], that's why I asked them if they had the intention to buy," said the woman.
She added that the group then "bombarded" her with questions over the price.
She was further aggravated by a person in the group who did not have enough cash when it was time to pay.
"[They] asked so many questions only to tell me that they only have $2. [They] then asked if I accept payment by US dollars or credit card," said the seller.
The seller was also irked after one of the tourists asked if they could buy 200g of grapes, instead of the 1kg bag displayed.
"I felt they were just trying to be difficult and didn't really have the intention to buy," said the shopkeeper.
"My conscience is clear. All our prices are clearly displayed here, and I always do my best to serve customers. It's just that when we occasionally encounter unreasonable tourists, it's hard not to feel angry."
In response to Shin Min's queries however, one tourist in the group refuted the seller's allegations, denying that they pressed on the fruit.
They had asked the seller about the price of rambutans only to receive a rude response, said the tourist, Shanice (transliteration), which triggered her to record the subsequent interaction.
Shanice told Shin Min that she was in Singapore on Feb 7 with her family and came across the fruit stall in Chinatown.
She claimed that the stall displayed only the prices of some fruits and not all.
"My aunt wanted to know the price of the rambutans, and the seller immediately replied, 'Do you want to ask or you want to buy?' and just stared at us. I felt her attitude was unacceptable and decided to record the interaction and put it online," said Shanice.
While the encounter was unpleasant, the experience did not ruin her impression in Singapore, said Shanice.
"It's a beautiful and clean country," she added.
Shanice also took the opportunity to thank the 'uncle' in the clip who tried to mediate the situation.
"He was very kind and helpful, we're grateful that he stepped forward to help us," she added.
