The guide dog that was with the visually impaired customer. Guide dogs are allowed in restaurants, food courts and cafes. - MICHAEL POH
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): A woman raised a stink at a chicken rice stall in Toa Payoh after the hawker served a visually impaired customer who had a guide dog with her.
Incensed that she did not see the hawker wash her hands after serving food to the dog’s owner – even though the hawker explained that she did – the woman argued with the stall owners for nearly 10 minutes last Friday (June 23).
Later that day, she went back to Poh Kee Chicken Rice at Block 206 Toa Payoh North, this time armed with a printout of a Google search result for “Are dogs allowed in Kopitiam?”. As the stall was closed, she left the piece of paper with another hawker.
On Sunday morning, the woman returned again and stepped into the chicken rice stall, which was not open for business, to paste another copy of the printout on the counter of the stall.
After reviewing closed-circuit television footage of what happened, the stall owner, Michael Poh, decided to report the incident to the police.
Poh’s wife, who served the visually impaired customer last Friday, said she tried to explain repeatedly and calmly that she did wash her hands at the back of the stall.
The 42-year-old said: “The woman said she didn’t see me wash my hands. I walked into the back of the stall to wash my hands at the sink. How can she see from where she’s standing or sitting?”
She added that she felt frustrated because the woman kept insisting on the same point.
When Poh stepped in to speak to her, the woman took issue with the fact that the guide dog was at the coffee shop.
He said he tried to explain that guide dogs are allowed in coffee shops, but the woman retorted: “Dogs are filthy. I don’t care if it’s a guide dog or not.”
He then explained that she could search about this online, but she kept searching for regulations for pet dogs instead of guide dogs.
In Singapore, guide dogs wear a yellow harness with text indicating that they are working dogs.
The National Environment Agency and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) allow guide dogs in restaurants, food courts and cafes. These dogs are also approved and allowed in halal-certified premises, according to an Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) advisory.
Poh said this was the first time he had encountered such an incident in more than 20 years of selling chicken rice.
The 43-year-old added: “You want to get your point across, the first note was enough. Why is it necessary to come on a Sunday when I’m not around... and behave so suspiciously to paste the note?”
According to Poh, the visually impaired person is a regular customer who lives in the area.
He said: “She has only a few places to eat because it’s dangerous for her to travel too far.
“Visually impaired people are already struggling, yet you still want to beat them down. Just live and let live.”
The police have confirmed that a report was lodged and investigations are under way.
The Straits Times has contacted SFA and Guide Dogs Singapore for more information.
