‘HDB BTO launch for table space’: Tables at Punggol Coast Hawker Centre ‘choped’ with over 30 water cartons
Netizens were left in disbelief after seeing multiple tables “choped” with water cartons at Punggol Coast Hawker Centre.
On May 14, Reddit user Goodestguy21 shared a photo of the scene on the SingaporeRaw subreddit, showing 19 seats across six tables reserved with at least 35 identical “Pure Water” cartons.
The surrounding tables were meanwhile fully occupied with diners.
Goodestguy21 said the sighting was observed between 11.30am and 11.50am, adding that no one showed up to claim the seats even as the lunch crowd streamed in.
“Wah, didn’t know hawker centre can reserve so many seats at once,” Goodestguy21 said in his Reddit post.
Netizens found the behaviour ‘inconsiderate’
The Reddit post garnered more than 300 upvotes and 100 comments a day after it was posted.
Many netizens described the act as “inconsiderate” and said it was “far too much” for a public space.
One comment, which garnered over 280 upvotes, said: “This is no longer chope. This is HDB BTO launch for table space.”
They said the behaviour was “selfish”, adding that hawker centres are a “shared space”.
One Redditor claimed there would still be empty seats at the hawker centre even during peak hours, putting into question the need to reserve so many seats.
Meanwhile, other netizens joked that there was “free water” for the taking.
In a clarification last April, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said that there are no fines for reserving seats at hawker centres, although patrons are encouraged to be considerate of others.
Stomp has reached out to Goodestguy21 for comment.
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