A man with leg weakness linked to complications from a stroke and leukaemia has alleged that he was confronted and assaulted by a woman after she saw him sitting in a priority seat on a public bus.
She had purportedly asked the man to vacate his seat for an elderly passenger, but the man declined.
According to the man's account, which was shared online, he had told the woman that he needed the seat because of his "leg weakness".
However, he alleged that she began to "scold" him.
"She said that I am young and I should just stand and give up my seat," he said, adding that she "refused to listen" when he tried to explain his leg injury.
He alleged that she also began taking photos of him. He responded by taking a video of her, and this led to her hitting his phone.
"She also told me to get down the bus to 'settle' with her," he said.
According to the man's brother, who shared further details of the incident online, this took place on Thursday (Aug 27) at around 7.55am aboard Service 8, which was travelling towards Tampines.
In a TikTok video posted by the man's brother, who goes by @chowrenjia, a woman can be heard scolding a man as he records the confrontation.
At one point, she appears to make contact with either his hand or mobile phone with her own phone, while continuing to berate him.
The man filming can be heard saying: "See, assault."
The woman can also be heard directing vulgarities at him.
The man's brother said that his sibling's leg had been affected by complications from both a previous stroke and leukaemia, adding that his brother had never used his condition to seek sympathy, favours or special treatment.
The brother added that although his sibling may appear healthy, not every disability or medical condition is immediately visible.
@asiaone The man's brother said that his sibling's leg had been affected by complications from both a previous stroke and leukaemia, adding that his brother had never used his condition to seek sympathy, favours or special treatment. #sgnews #singapore #bus #publictransport ♬ original sound - AsiaOne
"Firstly, sitting in a priority seat is not illegal. Secondly, no one deserves to be assaulted for sitting in any seat. And thirdly, not every disability or medical condition is visible," he wrote.
He added that while respecting elderly passengers was important, it should not come at the expense of basic consideration for others.
"We cannot assume that someone sitting in a priority seat is being inconsiderate or entitled. We simply do not know what they may be going through," he said.
The brother added in his post caption that there are respectful ways to handle such situations.
"There are ways to communicate, ask, or offer a seat without resorting to aggression or violence," he wrote.
The brother said the incident highlighted the need for greater awareness of invisible disabilities and medical conditions.
He also called on the woman involved to take responsibility for her actions and apologise to his brother.
Some netizens, however, questioned whether the video showed the full context of the incident.
One commenter wrote that there might have been "something that was done to provoke her", suggesting that the video was "fishy".
Another netizen felt that that the woman's brother might have repeatedly confronted her and that she was "defending herself".
The police confirmed that a report had been lodged and that investigations are ongoing.
AsiaOne has reached out to @chowrenjia for more information.
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