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‘You own this place ah?' — Man says elderly uncle snapped after he asked him to lower loud phone video at West Coast Plaza

SINGAPORE: A Singaporean recently took to social media to recount a tense, yet oddly 'interesting,' encounter with an elderly man at West Coast Plaza (formerly Ginza Plaza), where a simple request to lower the volume of a phone video nearly escalated into a full-blown confrontation. In a post that has since drawn reactions from netizens, the man described how he was sitting in a public seating area waiting for a tuina session when an elderly uncle, estimated to be in his 70s, sat beside him and began watching a video on his phone. Initially, the man said the volume was low and tolerable, but after a few minutes, the uncle slowly cranked the volume all the way up, blasting the audio for everyone nearby. Trying to be polite, the man turned to him and gently asked if he could lower the volume. At first, there was no response. Then, the elderly man slowly turned to stare at him in silence. In return, the man said he smiled back, hoping to ease the tension. That's when the uncle reportedly snapped back in Mandarin: 'You own this place ah?' The man replied calmly, 'No, but you sat down next to me and played the video, which bothered me.' Instead of responding to the point, the uncle repeated his question, again asking, 'You own this place ah?'—seemingly unwilling to acknowledge the complaint. See also Malaysian ex-PM to learn fate in 1MDB trial next month Suspecting that he might be hard of hearing, the man raised his voice: 'Your video is loud and bothering me. Can you turn it down?' By this point, the raised voices were drawing attention. Eventually, the uncle did lower the volume, but not without sarcasm. 'Like that can or not?! Like that can or not?' he reportedly barked. 'Ya! Like that can,' the man shot back. The exchange escalated when the older man challenged him: 'You want trouble, is it?' The man didn't back down. 'No, but you are welcome to try,' he said, attempting to look unfazed while staring him down with a smile. After a few seconds of tension, the uncle abruptly stood up and walked away. The man said the entire exchange attracted curious looks. According to him, nearby shop owners glanced over to see what was happening, while several people seated nearby appeared visibly uneasy and stood up to leave. 'Interesting thing is I just sat there while still waiting for my massage, and after I think two minutes, it's like it never happened. New people just came in and (sat) down, biz owners continued their business. It was peaceful. Ironically, another old uncle sat down next to me, but this time he was just reading (a) newspaper, and we actually had a conversation about the hot weather. (Why he was in the mall in the 1st place),' the man shared, as he continued recounting the incident. 'I found the experience interesting and a bit liberating. A lot of Singaporeans are non-confrontational, maybe because they are embarrassed, but actually, nobody cares who you are or what you look like. So yeah. Maybe the next time the old uncle will spit or punch me, but I think I am just sick of (this) behaviour,' he added. 'Good job to you for not backing down.' In the comments, many netizens praised the man for standing up to the uncle and holding his ground. 'You called him out for his behaviour and let him know the consequences of continuing it. Most folks here will just tolerate it for fear of speaking out. Good man,' one netizen said. 'Good job to you for not backing down. Some of these old people are just plain rude and obnoxious,' another chimed in. 'LOVE IT, thank you for your service,' a third added. Some netizens, however, sided with the uncle and felt that the man was overreacting. They pointed out that the seating area was a public space and that the man had no authority to tell others what they could or couldn't do there. One commenter said the man 'didn't own the place' and had no right to interfere, adding that he probably only chose to speak up because the uncle looked old and wouldn't fight back. Another netizen argued that the uncle had every right to ignore the complaint and continue watching his video, even if the volume was loud. They added that if the man was really so bothered, he could have just moved to another seat instead of starting an unnecessary conflict. In other news, a 24-year-old woman has expressed her frustration on social media after her 30-year-old ex-husband left her with a mountain of debt totalling S$230,000. Posting on the r/singaporefi forum, she shared that in the early days of their relationship, everything seemed fine. 'Everything was okay,' she wrote. 'I had my own savings. I was happy.' Both of them were working; she was earning around S$4,000 after Central Provident Fund (CPF), and they were living peacefully with their child at her mother's home. Read more: 'I feel stuck' — Singapore woman says ex-husband left her with S$230k debt