'I don't believe what I'm seeing': Man torches pig trotters on drain cover at MacPherson

Drains are generally seen as dirty and unsanitary.

However, that didn't deter a man as he torched pig trotters on a drain cover near Block 82 MacPherson Lane.

This caught the attention of TikTok user Bruce Mathieu and he walked up to the man for a quick chat in Mandarin.

Last Sunday (Jan 30), Mathieu uploaded a recording of the chat on TikTok.

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@brucemathieu8/video/7058832061221670145?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id6944924152827184641[/embed]

Mathieu began the video with the camera on him. "Hey guys, check this out ya. Cooking pork trotters on the drain grill," he noted.

He switched the camera around and walked towards the man and his pig trotters.

The man, in a grey singlet and blue shorts, was sitting on a plastic chair by the drain and can be seen using a blowtorch on the trotters. He told Mathieu, in an accent that doesn't sound local, that he was burning off hair from it.

Roasted pig trotters were on his Chinese New Year meal and he was in the midst of preparing them.

Their friendly chat came to an end as Mathieu wished him a happy new year.

On the interweb, opinions of the incident were split. Some netizens saw nothing wrong as the man was simply preparing food for personal consumption. 

Others questioned the cleanliness of a drain cover and felt food should not be prepared there.

AsiaOne has reached out to Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and Marine Parade Town Council for comments.

Preparing raw food, specifically pork, in public places is not a one-off incident.

In November 2020, a piece of raw pork was placed on a common corridor handrail outside an HDB flat in Sembawang. It was left under the sun to dry and oil and blood allegedly dripped onto the unit below.

ALSO READ: Pontian Wanton Noodles staff caught chopping meat on floor, SFA investigating

amierul@asiaone.com