The customer told a local news outlet that he had purchased a kampung durian from the stall located on Bedok North Street 1, according to Mothership.
He opened the durian immediately after purchase and found that its flesh had gone bad with browning along the edges.
However, when he asked for a replacement with photo evidence, a stall assistant allegedly declined, explaining that the fruit had already been opened and that the flesh looked that way because of its variety.
The man then asked for a refund instead but an employee allegedly told him to call the police.
He said he stepped away to do just that as the staff member was holding a knife and “clearly acting provocatively.” He also reported that the stall was partially obstructing the pedestrian walkway with its baskets.
Durians at a stall. Photo by Unsplash |
According to Shin Min Daily Newspolice were called to the same stall the following day by another customer.
The woman said she paid for S$8 worth of durian and an extra S$1 for takeaway. After leaving, she later returned to ask for the durian to be wrapped in plastic.
In response, a stall assistant started cursing her repeatedly, prompting her to call the police. The police showed up at the scene in both cases.
The stall manager said he was aware of both incidents but maintained that the complaints were unfounded.
He explained that the man had bought a durian with white pulp while the woman had misunderstood the situation and that the stall assistant was speaking to other colleagues at the time. He added that the woman should provide evidence if she had any.
Durian is well loved by Singaporeans. The city-state sources about 85% of its durians from Malaysia and imports around 100,000 kilograms of the fruit daily during the peak season, according to Bloomberg.
Several stalls selling the fruit have appeared in local news reports recently for various reasons.
Last month, a dispute broke out at one such stall, this time between staff rather than with customers. The dispute led to a fight in which two employees suffered minor injuries and another was sent to the hospital, according to Stomp.
But on a lighter note, another stall ran a free durian giveaway for seniors earlier this month, drawing a crowd of over 500 people.
“Kindness costs nothing, but it means everything,” that stall said in a Facebook post after the event. “I hope everyone can pass this love forward and make our society a little softer.”
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