Penang - the street food capital of the world.
Just the thought of a steaming hot plate of char kuey teow at the side of a bustling road is mouth-watering.
For some, the thought of waiting even a short time for their CKT fix can prove too much, like for one man in a viral video.
The man in the video is supposedly seen hurling verbal abuse at the hawker for taking too long with his food order before flipping the hot wok onto the road in anger. Did this really happen?
VERDICT:
TRUE
In a case of a little too much "wok hei", a calm evening at a well-known hawker stall near Macalister Road took a disruptive turn when a customer, believed to be intoxicated, reportedly lashed out with verbal abuse and damaged cooking equipment after becoming agitated over an alleged long wait.
Vincent Peh, 29, who operates a char koay teow stall at the popular hawker centre, said the incident happened around 7pm on Friday (July 4), just as he was starting his evening shift.
“My staff had just stepped away for a short toilet break, so there was a slight delay. Suddenly, this man started shouting that he couldn’t wait any longer,” he said, when contacted.
Peh alleged that the customer threw the wok that they were using to fry noodles and started yelling at me in a very aggressive manner.
The customer has also been alleged to have used foul language and accused Peh of being a foreign worker.
“He insulted me... Just because I run a hawker stall doesn’t mean people can speak to me like that,” he said.
Peh said the man in his 40s berated that as a customer, he has the right to scold hawkers whenever he likes.
Despite the verbal abuse and the damage to his equipment, Peh maintained his composure and lodged a police report the same night.
However, Peh said he decided to withdraw the report on Tuesday morning (July 8) after reflecting on the incident.
“I didn’t want to drag the matter any further,” he said, adding that the damage was not that much.
He said if the wok was damaged, he could replace it, and the abusive man might have been going through a bad day.
Phe said while he forgave the man, he hoped people would show more respect to food vendors and small business operators.
“We’re here trying to earn an honest living, just because we’re behind a wok doesn’t mean we deserve to be treated poorly. A little patience goes a long way,” he said.
