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'Kindness costs nothing': $10,000 worth of free durians draws queue of over 500 in Yishun
1,200kg of durians were distributed in less than 1.5 hours.
The free giveaway by Yishun durian business Famous Durian on Monday (Dec 8) at 6pm drew a line of over 500 seniors, some of whom queued as early as 3pm.
PHOTO: Facebook/Shin Min Daily News
PUBLISHED ONDecember 10, 2025 2:40 PM
BYCandice Cai
More than 500 seniors formed a snaking queue at Block 848 Yishun Street 81 on Monday (Dec 8), as they waited patiently to receive free durians.
The giveaway, which began at 6pm, was organised by durian seller Famous Durian.
Over 1,000 durians with a combined weight of 1,200kg were given away in less than 1.5 hours, Shin Min Daily News reported.
Seniors aged 60 and above were allowed to take two durians each, with one of them a premium Mao Shan Wang durian.
MP for Nee Soon GRC Lee Hui Ying was also seen distributing durians to the elderly who queued up, some of whom reportedly stood in line for at least three hours.
Stall owner Yan Qingshen (transliteration), 43, told Shin Min Daily News the intiative was his way of giving back to society.
It was reportedly the fourth free durian giveaway organised by the business.
Thanking his suppliers for their help, Yan also shared that durians given away were valued at over $10,000.
According to Shin Min, there was already a long queue of over 200 people at 5pm, with the line winding across to a neighbouring block.
One resident who was fourth in the queue told the Chinese evening daily that she was in line at 3pm.
"This is my first time claiming the durians, I'm very happy," said the 71-year-old retiree.
There were also volunteers in place to maintain orderliness and to ensure that the line did not obstruct the HDB walkways.
Yan stated that due to the large turnout, he had to give out 100 more durians and stocks were depleted by 7.20pm.
"There were about 500 to 600 people, but nearing the end we realised there were not enough durians. So we took out 100 more durians to give out, but this time the seniors could only get one each," said Yan.
He acknowledged that some of them were disgruntled as a result.
"This is (an event) to spread love and happiness to people, making anyone unhappy is not our intent," he said.
A Facebook post by the business following the event expressed similar sentiments of spreading love, "in a world that feels messy", with "no agenda".
"Kindness costs nothing, but it means everything. I hope everyone can pass this love forward and make our society a little softer."
This is not the first time a durian business has organised a free giveaway of the king of fruits.
Last year, a durian business along Serangoon Road gave away 1,000kg of durians worth $15,000 to Pioneer Generation customers and CHAS (Community Health Assist Scheme) card holders.
