Woman stuck in men’s toilet at JB’s Paradigm Mall for 20 mins, calls brothers for help
A woman was stuck in a men’s toilet at Paradigm Mall in Johor Bahru for 20 minutes until her two older brothers came to her rescue.
Syed Al-Shahab — better known by his TikTok handle @thesingaporearab — documented the incident in a 23-second clip posted on May 3.
The on-screen text explained that his sister had been trapped in the men’s toilet until Mr Al-Shahab and his brother realised she had called them to help escort her out of the cubicle.
Based on the video, Mr Al-Shahab’s sister initially thought there was a man in the female toilet.
She later realised she had entered the men’s toilet and called Mr Al-Shahab for help. In the video, she opens the cubicle door sheepishly, and the trio burst into laughter almost immediately.
After they exited, the camera pans to the male toilet sign, which featured a circle on top, a trapezium in the middle and a single vertical rectangle at the bottom — a design some viewers found confusing.
‘Funny, ‘what the hell’’ situation, says TikToker
Speaking to Stomp on the phone on May 4, Mr Al-Shahab said his family had been in Johor Bahru over the Labour Day long weekend for a vacation. They visited Paradigm Mall towards the end of their trip on May 2, due to its proximity to Singapore.
The toilets were located on an L-shaped corridor — shown in the video — with the women’s toilet further inside.
His sister, Chepah, had seen his wife walk out from the shorter end of the corridor, and assumed that she had exited from the toilet nearest to her: the men’s toilet.
While she did notice urinals, she initially thought those were signs of more “advanced” toilets.
Chepah only realised her mistake after hearing male voices, noticing men’s shoes, and peeking out to see men in the toilet. She then called her brothers for help.
Mr Al-Shahab described the situation as a “funny”, “what the hell” moment that the entire family — including their initially worried father — found hilarious.
‘I don’t blame her’, says netizens
The video has garnered more than 202,400 views, 8,000 likes and 150 comments.
There were many comments from users expressing solidarity with Chepah, with some sharing they had gone through a similar experience.
“I dont blame her, the toilet symbol mmg confusing,” wrote a TikTok user, while another added: “Happen to me twice.”
“I almost had this confusion in Paradigm!!!! (You) are not alone sis! The (male) toilet sign looks like it’s wearing skirt,” said another.
Mr Al-Shahab said he only noticed the confusing sign while filming his video, and was initially “shocked” that many had faced the same issue.
“Lucky I recorded it,” he added, saying he was thankful to have captured a funny family memory.
See something interesting? Contribute your story to us.
