2 taken to hospital after fight between stall owners in Ang Mo Kio

SINGAPORE - Two people were taken to hospital after a fight in Ang Mo Kio on Tuesday (Jan 1) over the use of business premises.

The police said that they were alerted to the incident, which occurred at Block 449 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10, at 10.50am. A 43-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman were taken to Sengkang General Hospital in a conscious state.

The Straits Times understands that the fight took place over a dispute between a shop owner and a prospective tenant.

Chinese evening paper Shin Min Daily News reported that about six months ago, a couple who run a dry goods store in the neighbourhood started renting out the space in front of their shop through a property agent.

At the time, the couple reportedly had an agreement with the agent that they would not rent the space to vendors selling goods that were similar to theirs.

However, when a new vendor opened a stall in the space on Tuesday, the couple found that she was selling such goods.

As they were afraid their business would be affected, the couple told the agent to ask her to vacate the area, and she did.

But according to Shin Min, the new vendor's husband later returned to the shop with a few people to look for the male owner of the dry goods shop to discuss the issue.

After a while, their discussion escalated into a quarrel and a fight subsequently broke out.

The police are investigating the incident. However, ST understands no arrests were made as the incident was classified as a case of voluntarily causing hurt, which is not an arrestable offence.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.