2 masseuses at Orchard Towers fight over customers; 1 arrested

SINGAPORE - A longstanding feud over customers between two masseuses at Orchard Towers escalated into a full blown altercation, leading to an arrest.

According to the Chinese evening daily Shin Min, the accident occurred at 4pm on Thursday. The two masseuses, located on the same floor in Orchard Towers, had an acrimonious relationship due to the intense competition. The feud later deteriorated into a fight.

At the time of the incident, Miss Xu, 43, and her rival, 36, were at their shopfronts trying to attract customers.

The 36-year-old masseuse was later irked by Miss Xu's behaviour, and subsequently rushed over to the latter's shop, shoved her to the floor, and started beating the victim with her three-inch heels. Miss Xu was later bleeding from the head.

Miss Xu told Shin Min reporters that her unnamed rival was very aggressive with her customer service, shouting "massage" to attract customers, but scaring them in the process.

"Her shop is ideally located; there are is high traffic-volume. But she was so aggressive with every passing customer, making it very hard for the other masseuses to get any business at all," Miss Xu said.

She continued, "Early this year, I told her off for scaring away the customers, and there was some bad blood ever since."

On the day of the incident, the 36-year-old masseuse was dissatisfied with Miss Xu for trying to attract customers. She suddenly lunged into Miss Xu with both hands, causing Miss Xu to sprawl on the floor defenseless.

"Despite being separated by two or three shops, she was so fast when she leapt at me, and the impact threw me to the ground.

"She shifted her weight on my body with her left leg to pin me, pulled my hair with one hand, and removed her three-inch high heels with the other hand. Once she removed the heels, she stabbed it wildly into my head for about five, six times,' Miss Xu added.

Miss Xu immediately called the police, and later sought treatment in a hospital.

Traumatised

After the accident, Miss Xu has been experiencing headaches, weakness in her limbs, and a loss of concentration.

"I felt my blood dripping from my head down to my back and waist. My neck was also bruised. The recollection terrifies me,' Miss Xu said.

Miss Xu says that she intends to recuperate the next few days, before looking for a new place to work.

"The competition here is intense. Other massage parlours have been moving to the same level as my shop. This latest incident makes everything untenable."

Dejected

After she was arrested, the 36-year-old masseuse was also sent to the hospital for a medical examination.

According to the Shin Min reporters, the masseuse, sporting a beige dress, was handcuffed to a wheelchair.

As the police interrogated her, tears started streaming down her cheeks. She looked downcast and anxious.

Shin Min reporters later observed the masseuse going for another round of medical checkups, which lasted for about 10 minutes.

The police later confirmed with Shin Min that they were alerted to the incident at 5:03pm on Thursday and a woman was arrested. Investigations are ongoing.