An American tourist using the Instagram handle Sophisticated_beauty_868 posted a video on Feb. 10 describing an unpleasant encounter at a fruit stall in Singapore’s Chinatown, according to Singapore-based AsiaOne.
The clip, filmed a day earlier, showed the tourist attempting to purchase fruit when the exchange with the vendor became tense.
In the caption, she wrote: “Among Singapore. Beautiful city, lies a Beast. Welcome to Chinatown. Highly unrecommended.”
She said the situation began after her aunt inquired about the price of a bundle of red plums.
According to the tourist, the vendor continued staring at them, prompting her to begin recording as the interaction “seemed hostile and very rude.”
When the tourist asked whether the seller was ready to assist and pointed to a bag of muscat grapes to ask what they were, the vendor replied: “You want to buy, or you want to ask?”, as reported by Mothership.
The tourist said some items did not have clear price labels and that she only wanted clarification before deciding to purchase.
As the exchange escalated, an elderly man nearby intervened and showed them a sign indicating that the seedless grapes were priced at S$25 (US$19.8) per kilogram, attempting to calm the situation, Must Share News reported.
The tourist and her aunt thanked the man for being “friendly and understanding” and eventually left without buying anything.
The fruit seller later said the group had tried to bargain earlier and that her products were premium varieties sold at fixed prices.
Despite the incident, the tourist said she would not judge Singapore based on the experience, describing the country as beautiful and among the cleanest she had visited.
Many Singaporean netizens apologized for the encounter and said the vendor did not represent the country, while others commended the man who stepped in to mediate.
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