Uncle loses teeth after brawl with couple over baby stroller in Tampines One lift
A simple dinner came to a bloody end for a 71-year-old man after he was punched by a stranger in a lift.
The man's daughter who declined to be named told Shin Min Daily News that their family had dinner with a friend at Tampines One shopping mall last Wednesday (July 5).
After doing some shopping, the family took the lift from the fourth floor, intending to head to the car park in the basement.
The woman said that the lift stopped at the third floor, where a young couple entered with two children and a baby lying in a stroller.
"The lift was very crowded as there were 10 of us inside — myself, my parents, my 17-year-old daughter and my friend, as well as the other family of five," recounted the woman.
While the group was in the lift, the woman said the stroller accidentally rolled over her father's foot, and she then told the other family not to come too close to them.
"The mother was very displeased. She said if I wasn't happy I should have taken the escalator. I then retorted that she didn't own the lift."
As the two women began squabbling, the elderly man raised his hand to try and stop them.
However, his gesture was misinterpreted by the other woman's husband, who thought he was getting physical, reported Shin Min.
"He punched my father in the face several times," said the man's daughter.
The scuffle continued as the lift reached the ground floor.
"They sent the children out of the lift and continued beating each other until some passers-by came to separate them," said the woman, who later filed a police report against the young family.
Shin Min also spoke with the woman's friend, surnamed Yu, who said the altercation lasted for about two minutes.
The 35-year-old manager also had some bruises on her hands from trying to stop the fight.
Yu told the Chinese daily that her friend's father lost three teeth after he was punched.
His daughter shared that the elderly man also suffers from heart disease and diabetes, and was given eight days' medical leave.
"Because of the stitches, he can't wear his dentures for two months. He can only eat porridge now, and his daily life has been affected. He feels very wronged, because he was attacked for no reason."
According to Yu, the police told her that the young couple's baby was scratched from the brawl, but she didn't think it was possible.
"We didn't touch the baby at all, I hope [the police] will look at the CCTV footage to see what really happened," Yu said.
Couple claims family flipped stroller
When a reporter from Shin Min visited Tampines One on Tuesday (July 11), a shop assistant who witnessed the incident said that she saw the baby bleeding from his forehead.
Medics later attended to the baby and he was subsequently sent to the hospital.
While the baby's parents were waiting for the police to arrive, she asked the baby's father what happened.
"He said that the elderly man's family was very unhappy about them entering the lift, and even said: 'So what if you have a baby?'
"Both sides then started arguing after the stroller accidentally rolled over the elderly man's foot. The woman then started to hit his wife," she said.
According to the shop assistant, the baby's father did not retaliate but instead accused the elderly man of flipping the stroller, causing the baby to get hurt.
"When the lift reached B1, he wanted to let his family out of the lift before settling the matter with the elderly man, but the other family left after the lift reached the car park, so he had to call the police."
AsiaOne has contacted the police for more information.
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claudiatan@asiaone.com
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