Customer arrested for spitting on and verbally abusing shopowner after PayNow transaction failed

Unable to use PayNow to purchase a pack of cigarettes, a man took his frustrations out on a couple manning a grocery store and spat on the owner. 

The incident on Saturday morning (Dec 10) at the store in Block 332 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 led to the man’s arrest, reported Shin Min Daily News. 

At 8am that day, the owner’s wife was manning the counter, while the 28-year-old store owner, identified as Mr Lee, was resting upstairs.

A man entered the store alone, with beer in his hand, and went directly to the counter to buy cigarettes, said Mr Lee.

When he found that he could not successfully scan the QR code to pay for his purchase, he raised his voice at Mrs Lee, who is five months’ pregnant.

When Mr Lee heard the commotion and came downstairs, he said he smelled alcohol on the man, who was also staggering. 

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The man continued spewing vulgarities, so Mr Lee told him to leave the store. However, this enraged him even more.

“Don’t think I won’t hit you, I can kill you with one punch,” he allegedly told Mr Lee while waving a fist at him. 

The man then spat on the store owner, leaving a trail of spit on his T-shirt.

Mr Lee then called the police and told his wife to take a photo of his shirt for evidence. 

When the man finally left the store after a few minutes, Mr Lee trailed him to a nearby coffee shop where he tried to buy beer but once again failed to pay for it using PayNow.

Police arrested him in the area shortly after.

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