3 friends clash with 'aggressive' man at coffee shop

3 friends clash with 'aggressive' man at coffee shop

A dispute involving four men broke out at a coffee shop in Choa Chu Kang yesterday morning, after a 42-year-old man accosted three friends who were having their breakfast.

Civil servant Koh Hwee Liang, 57, was queueing for noodles at a coffee shop at Block 534, Choa Chu Kang Street 51 when a man sitting nearby suddenly banged his hand on a table.

Said Mr Koh: "He asked me if I was in the queue repeatedly and loudly. He was very aggressive."

Mr Leong Yew Chai, who was in the queue with Mr Koh, tried to reason with the man who ignored him. "So I asked if he was looking for trouble," said Mr Leong, also 57. The man then took Mr Leong's tray and slammed it onto the counter of a neighbouring stall. "He was about to hit me, but I told him not to make a scene in public," Mr Leong said.

His other friend, Mr Yeo Teck, 73, walked over and told the man to stop it. In response, the man kicked Mr Yeo who fell backwards and struck a table corner, injuring his hand.

Police received a call about the incident at 8.46am. Two coffee shop assistants and one bystander helped pin down the struggling man, who was spewing vulgarities in Hokkien and English, to stop him from going at Mr Yeo until the police arrived, said Mr Koh.

When the police arrived, they told the four men not to "breach the peace". The dispute was later resolved amicably, the police said.


This article was first published on July 21, 2014.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.