Not so charitable: Diner rejects man selling keychains at Geylang eatery, gets hit on the head

He was polite and had refused an offer, but was struck on the head with a glass cup instead. 

Last Saturday (April 22), a man surnamed Cai was dining at eatery Lor 9 Beef Kway Teow in Geylang when he was approached by a tattooed young man selling keychains, reported Shin Min Daily News.

"He was holding a card filled with words but isn't mute or deaf. I suspected he was a fraud, so I politely refused to buy anything from him," the 39-year-old administrative assistant recounted. 

Despite Cai's refusal to buy from him, the young man continued to hawk his items. In response, Cai remarked that he had no money. 

"As soon as I told him so, he retorted: 'No money but you're still eating such good food'. I asked him what he said and he turned around to confront me." 

The man then started cursing at him. Angered, Cai asked the man to leave so that he could finish his meal. 

At that moment, another man suddenly appeared with a glass coffee cup in his hand. He yelled at Cai: "Don't mess with my brother," and then started bashing the cup at him. 

"I felt dizzy after the attack, I remember someone helping me onto a chair. Someone also called an ambulance to take me to the hospital." 

Cai told Shin Min that he eventually received three stitches at the hospital, and was given two days of sick leave. He added that he still experiences headaches, and has since lost his appetite. 

"The doctor told me to return for a check-up next week, if my head still hurts I'll need to go for an X-Ray to check for blood clots." 

Cai said he has also made a police report against the young man. 

"I hope the police will arrest both of them as soon as possible so that I can get some justice," remarked Cai. 

When asked about how the two men looked like, Cai estimated the man selling keychains to be about 180cm tall. He added that the attacker was about 165cm tall, but was unable to remember if he had tattoos. 

We didn't notice anything: Eatery staff

Shin Min also interviewed some of the staff at the Geylang eatery.

One said: "It was very busy at that time, so we didn't notice anything until some customers were attending to the injured man." 

The staff, who did not want to be identified, said that the two men quickly fled the scene after the attack. They have not re-appeared since. 

He further shared that sometimes people would enter the eatery to sell miscellaneous items and that the staff usually wouldn't turn them away. However, he did not recognise the two men.

Unfortunately, they shared that they were unable to provide the police with evidence against the perpetrators, as there is no CCTV installed at the premises. 

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claudiatan@asiaone.com