Why are people complaining about the food at Geylang Bazaar? It has never been worth going since the last time I went there in 2010.
The food is getting more expensive but the quality is getting worse. I can’t blame the sellers there because I understand the rental is extortionate, food prices are going up and their profit margins are razor thin these past few years.
If you decide to bother going there, it’s caveat emptor. Those who don’t bother about wanting to be seen there (ie. step handsome or jambu) have already taken to ordering our Hari Raya provisions online.
I pity the sellers there. Just hawk your wares on the Internet. There will still be plenty of customers, believe me. Makcik yang tak pandai pakai Internet ke Facebook, sila belajar. Gi tanya anak ke sedara yang ikut trend anak muda hari ini.
All in all, the bazaars at Geylang, Tampines and Woodlands are hot, cramped, dirty and ridiculously expensive places to shop.
The experience is priceless, for some. For everything else, there’s Mastercard.
Malik is buying stuff for Hari Raya.
Malik knows the bazaars are horrible. He doesn’t go there and complain about the trip once he gets home.
Malik uses the Internet and his Mastercard. Malik knows how to use bank transfers.
It began with a man accusing another of bumping into him, escalated into an explosive argument and ended with the accuser hitting the other man’s head with two beer bottles.
Part of the incident, which occurred at a 24-hour convenience store near Lorong 19 in Geylang around 9.40pm on Sunday, was captured on video by a female shop assistant using her mobile phone camera.
The minimart manager, who wanted to be known only as Mr Liu, 49, told The New Paper yesterday that the assailant, who was a familiar face at the store, was buying cigarettes and soft drinks at the time.
Mr Liu’s female assistant had told him that the man, who wore a black T-shirt, was paying at the counter when an older man and a friend entered the store to buy cigarettes.
Suddenly, the first man loudly accused the older man of bumping into him and started swearing.
“The older man told him that he didn’t like what he was saying,” said Mr Liu in Mandarin.
As the argument became more heated, the first man suddenly grabbed two beer bottles and hit the older man’s head. The bottles did not shatter but blood started gushing from the victim’s head.
Mr Liu said: “The shop assistant told me that the blood just kept flowing, staining the older man’s white T-shirt. He was also unsteady and fell down once but he never hit back at the man in the black T-shirt.”
As the assailant continued spewing vulgarities, the victim shouted at his companion to call the police. When the assailant heard this, he phoned a friend and asked to him to go to the store, said Mr Liu.
STUNNED
Meanwhile, the victim’s friend blocked the door to prevent the assailant from leaving.
Alone in the shop with three angry men, the shop assistant was too stunned to do anything.
“She told me that she didn’t see the victim bump into the other man,” said Mr Liu.
When the shop assistant tried to record the attack on her mobile phone, the assailant threatened her.
Mr Liu said: “He shouted at her to stop or he would call people to go to the shop every day to harass her.”
When Mr Liu arrived at the minimart around 10pm, the police were already there and four or five people were milling around outside.
“The assailant’s friend was outside and didn’t enter the store,” he said.
Mr Liu said that when the assailant saw the police, he sat on the floor and said he felt faint. But he declined to be taken to hospital, said a Singapore Civil Defence Force spokesman.
The 43-year-old victim was taken conscious to Tan Tock Seng hospital in an ambulance, the spokesman added.
A police spokesman said they were alerted to the incident at 9.52pm.
A 34-year-old man was arrested for voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons and means. Investigations are continuing.
Mr Liu estimated that the minimart lost about $1,000 in takings as a result of the incident.
He said the police were there for about three hours carrying out investigations.
“We spent an hour cleaning the shop after that,” added Mr Liu.
“Some items like the beer bottles next to the counter had blood (on them) and had to be thrown away. It wasn’t the first time a fight has happened but this is the worst so far.”
Semalam saya terbaca pasal pergaduhan di Geylang yang telah mengakibatkan seoang lelaki maut. Betul-betul ingatkan bangsa diorang yang terlibat sebab kan tempat kejadian kat Geylang lorong-lorong bukan Geylang Serai. Saya dimaklumkan Geylang Lorong 2 sampai Lorong 30 tu red light district di Geylang. Tak ramai Melayu did sana. Kejadian berlaku di antara Lorong 6 dengan 8. Di sana kalau ada kes sebegini selalunya bangsa diorang atau bangsa diorang yang diimport dari Cina.
Jadi bila dapat tahu yang terlibat merupakan orang Melayu, saya begitu terkejut.
Apa yang mereka buat di sana? Ada makanan halal ke? Duduk minum kopi je?
Yang lebih buat saya tertanya-tanya, kenapa ada perselisihan faham sampai tak boleh bawak bicara? Satu hilang nyawa tetapi berapa banyak keluarga yang akan musnah akibat perkelahian ini? Keluarga akan berpecah belah, anak-anak susah nak ke sekolah, tiada bembingan, masa depan mereka malap. Kerana apa? Kerana seorang wanita? Maaf cakap lah, wanita yang berkenaan pun bukan lah rupa macam Rahimah Rahim ke…
Mereka akan menyesal tak sudah. Tapi apa nak buat?
Sayang sekali. Saya lihat masyarakat kita ni penuh budaya, penuh pegangan, penuh daya kreatif dan penuh keberanian. Tetapi ciri-ciri in disalurakan kepada initiatif atau usaha yang bukan saja membebankan, malah merosakkan.
Saya teringat dahulu adik saya masuk penjara kerana penglibatannya dalam satu gang fight. Rioting. Mak saya yang susah payah pergi Changi Prison untuk melawat dia. Kita tidak ada duit. Mak pun kurang sihat tapi mak tetap mahu lihat adik saya. Dari Jurong Extension sampai Changi. Perjalanan sungguh jauh setakat nak bertemu adik kurang dari setengah jam.
Yang lagi mebuat saya sedih, ramai jugak nenek-nenek yang ditemani cucu-cucu mereka. Saya tanya diri saya kenapa adik-adik ni tak ke sekolah? Satu ni terangkan yang dia menemani nenek dia untuk melihat bapanya yang di dalam. Dia lah yang tolong nenek dia turun naik bas, pergi register kat Prison Link Centre…budak 10 tahun dah tahu pasal masalh dunia sebegini. Sepatutnya mereka berada di sekolah bersama rakan-rakan, bukan di Prison.
Sudah sekian lama, masyarakat kita masih terjebak dengan masalah sosial. Keluarga pincang, anak luar nikah, masalah dadah, masalah kumpulan samseng. Kenapa masih tak berubah?
Mana daya saingan kita? Mana wawasan kita?
Kalau bukan kerana masyarakat pun, ushalah yang baik-baik untuk mempertingkatkan diri anda demi masa depan kelurga. Jangan buang masa. Zaman kian berubah kalau kita tak ikut sama, kita akan hanyut ditelan arus pemodenan. Insha Allah, dengan berkat doa dan usaha, masyarakat kita akan, sedikit demi sedikit, merubah masa depan.
The woman at the center of the Geylang Lorong 8 murder case has come out to give her say: “I admit that I know both of them (the suspect and deceased), but those two men have nothing to do with me.”
Shin Min News reported yesterday that two men got into a quarrel over a woman, which resulted in one man stabbing the other in the waist, killing him and leaving him on the street where the victim bled to death.
The incident took place at about 9PM in a coffeeshop between Geylang Lorong 6 and 8. The deceased is a 48 year-old local Malay man named Rashid.
The suspect was a 55 year-old elderly Malay man who wore a red hat.
Eye witnesses overheard the two men arguing over the 40 year-old Siti, who works as a cleaner.
Siti was approached by the media for her comments. She said she knew the suspect and the victim, but they did not have a relationship with her.
“I worked at this coffeeshop last year for two months as a coffeeshop helper. I got to know them during this time as they are regulars there. They were there almost everyday.”
However, she quit her job as a helper and went to work for a backpacking hostel and did not have anymore contact with the 2 men.
Police have arrested a 55-year-old man in connection with the murder of a man in Geylang on Sunday night.
Investigations are ongoing.
The police said that they received a call for assistance at Lorong 8 Geylang at about 9.10pm. The police found the 48-year-old victim lying motionless at the scene.
He was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where he was subsequently pronounced dead just after 10pm.
Shin Min Daily News reported that witnesses interviewed at the coffeeshop said they knew the victim to be an argumentative person.
