‘Clean up leh’: TikToker criticised after filming matcha spill on MRT train
A commuter found himself on the receiving end of criticism after posting a video of his spilled matcha drink on the floor of a train cabin, with some netizens questioning why he filmed the incident instead of cleaning it up.
Wilfred Lee — whose TikTok handle is @wilfredleeck — posted a 19-second video on June 14 of himself holding a cup with the remnants of a green drink that had spilled over a large area of a train cabin.
A puddle of green liquid can be seen by his feet, appearing to spread as the train moved.
The on-screen text read: “How much aura did I lose for spilling my matcha on the train”.
Speaking to Stomp, Lee said the incident occurred at about 5.47pm on June 12 while he was travelling on the East-West Line from Jurong East towards Tuas.
According to Lee, the spill happened when the paper bag carrying his matcha drink suddenly tore.
“It didn’t spill because I was drinking it,” he clarified.
Asked why he decided to film the incident, the 26-year-old content creator said: “It was really embarrassing and there really wasn’t much I could do besides capture the embarrassing moment.”
Lee added that the train was already heading towards the end of the line. He also said that fellow passengers stepped in to help by placing tissues over the spill, adding that he “had nothing” on him.
“I low-key was gonna take out my shirt to wipe but that’ll be even worse,” he told Stomp.
After alighting at Pioneer station, Lee said he immediately informed the control centre about the spill on the train — a point he also made clear in his caption.
‘First thing take video?’
The video has already garnered more than 226,700 views, 14,400 likes, 280 comments and 11,100 shares.
Many netizens were puzzled by Lee’s decision to film the spill, arguing that his priority should have been cleaning it up.
“Why r u just recording urself? Clean la 😭” one TikTok user commented.
Another comment with more than 1,200 likes echoed this sentiment, saying: “First thing take video? Hello clean eh”.
A handful of netizens sympathised with Lee, pointing out that he did not have cleaning equipment on him and could not be expected to clean up such a large spill.
“Y’all telling him to clean up as if he has the tools or tissue to clean that up,” commented one user.
Another pointed out that tissues had already been placed over the spill, indicating that there had been attempts to contain the mess.
“I’m sure he tried cleaning it when he videoed this, the tissues are placed to stop the spill from rolling (clearly in the video) and the spill is so big even asking for tissue won’t be enough, be thankful that he told the staff and admitted his mistake and not just leave without caring,” said the commenter.
The video has also made its rounds on the r/SMRTRabak subreddit, where users similarly criticised Lee’s decision to film the incident.
Addressing the backlash he received online, Lee acknowledged that some of the criticism was fair.
“I think the negative comments are valid, but accidents happen and we should all be nicer to one another and help out in situations like that,” he said.
Stomp has reached out to SMRT for comment.
See something interesting? Contribute your story to us.
