Elderly attendant speaks out on Caltex 'misunderstanding': "Don't disturb the BMW driver"

A kiosk attendant involved in a furore where a BMW driver refused to pay for the topping up of his fuel tank after alleging that the elderly worker had misheard his instructions, said that the incident was a misunderstanding, and asked netizens to stop harassing the driver.  

The incident happened at a Caltex petrol kiosk in Tampines Avenue 8 on Saturday (April 14), and was witnessed by a passer-by.

The witness subsequently posted about the incident on Facebook, and her post quickly went viral, with netizens even identifying the driver online. 

Since then, the driver has spoken out about the incident, saying that the attendant had misheard his instruction to pump only $10 worth of petrol, and pumped a full tank, which cost $135. 

He told Shin Min Daily News that the attendant had a bad attitude, raised his voice, and would not acknowledge his mistake.

The driver refuted claims by netizens saying that he had told the attendant ‘fuel ten’ to mislead him, insisting that he spoke entirely in Mandarin during their brief exchange. 

Shin Min Daily News later contacted the attendant for his comments on the incident. 

Known affectionately as ‘Cowboy’ to his colleagues, the attendant told reporters that the incident was a misunderstanding.

He said that he does not read the news or go online often, and only found out that the incident had gone viral on Monday (April 16).

When the attendant first heard that netizens had exposed the driver’s identity, and even made harassing calls, he decided to speak out on the driver’s behalf.

He asked for netizens to be rational, and to let the matter pass.

The attendant said:

“The entire incident was a misunderstanding, and the company is now handling it.

“As for netizens harassing the driver, I feel that there is really no need for this, and they should stop immediately.

"Don't disturb the BMW driver."

When reporters asked the attendant how the driver had asked to fill his tank that day, the attendant declined to give a response. 

He, however, added that the situation was quite chaotic that day, and everything is now being handled by the company.

As such, it would not be right for him to comment on it. 

Reporters also asked for his response to the driver’s allegations of him having a bad attitude, but the worker simply smiled and shrugged his shoulders. 

Throughout the saga, the driver maintained that he had asked for a $10 top up as he was going to trade in the BMW at an automotive dealer on the day of the incident.

A manager at the dealer, Mr Huang Jun Ming, 24, said that following company protocol, the car was handed over to a garage.

He revealed that maintenance work was being done on the rear mirror and headlights on the BMW.

A shareholder at the Platinum Werkz, the garage where the BMW was sent for repairs, told Shin Min Daily News that he did not realise that the BMW was the same one embroiled in the viral dispute. 

A shareholder, Mr Hu Qinsheng, 25, said that on Monday morning, more than 10 people had come down to take photos of the BMW, and that was when he realised that it was the same BMW. 

He said:

“After that, we received various harassing calls.

“We can only try our best to explain the whole incident all over.”