Clementi hawker cleans up, offers free replacement after elderly customer drops food — then another patron steps in
It was a busy morning at Clementi 448 Market & Food Centre when an elderly woman dropped the food she had purchased, sparking not one, but two acts of kindness.
The incident occurred at Ji Xiang Vegetarian Food on Sept 16 at around 9.45am.
Stomper Arvelia was having breakfast at the hawker centre after running errands in the area when she witnessed what she described as “a small act of kindness”.
“An elderly aunty had just purchased food from Ji Xiang Vegetarian Food when she accidentally dropped it on the floor,” the Stomper recounted.
According to Arvelia, nobody seemed to step forward as the aunty dealt with the mess of bee hoon and gravy — except for one man.
“The stall owner, however, noticed what had happened and immediately came out to assist her. He helped to clean up the spilled food and picked up what had fallen onto the floor,” said the Stomper, who shared a photo of the heartwarming deed.
“More importantly, he then prepared a fresh serving of food for the elderly customer, replacing the food she had accidentally dropped.”
Arvelia told Stomp that while the gesture was simple, it was a thoughtful one, especially towards an elderly customer who had just experienced an unfortunate accident.
She commended the hawker for taking time to stop what he was doing to lend a helping hand despite it being a busy morning for his stall.
‘Kind souls are a gem’
“Sometimes, kindness can be found in the smallest moments like a hawker quietly replacing a meal for an elderly customer without making a fuss,” the Stomper added.
Arvelia hopes that sharing the incident on Stomp will make the hawker’s day because “kind souls are a gem”.
When Stomp visited the stall on Sept 18 at around 11am, owner Thomas Ho said he did not realise that someone had taken a photo of the incident.
“It was so busy,” the 62-year-old hawker recalled.
“The aunty was walking off when she dropped the whole packet of food on the ground, so I helped her to pick it up, throw it away and gave her a new packet.”
Worried that passers-by — especially the elderly — might slip and fall as the floor was “very dirty and oily”, Thomas cleaned up the mess.
But the display of Singapore’s kampung spirit did not end there.
Stranger pays for elderly woman’s food
Thomas revealed: “A gentleman came and said he wanted to pay for the aunty’s second packet of food. I asked why, and he said he just wanted to compensate for it. I was so paiseh.”
Thomas declined and told the man that it was his “passion” to help, but the man simply scanned his stall’s QR code and paid the few dollars.
The jovial hawker, who has been operating Ji Xiang Vegetarian Food for over 30 years, does not think much of what he did for the aunty and said he would help anyone in her shoes.
“People come for a meal to fill their stomachs. When they drop their food, they are probably feeling frightened and a sense of loss, so might as well let them have a nice meal and good day,” he added.
Thomas, who left his job in 2018 to take over the stall, was accompanied by colleagues when presented with a Stomp Goody Bag.
Asked what he thinks about heartwarming deeds like his being a rarity, Thomas said: “I’m glad (the Stomper) observed this. I think there should be more kindness in society, in the country and even the world.”
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