Elderly woman assaulted by mother-daughter pair after overhearing them gossip in supermarket

The New Paper
Aug 7, 2023

A woman claimed to have been assaulted by two others at a FairPrice outlet in Bukit Merah Central – after she glared at them and made a “passing remark”.

The woman, surnamed Huang, told Shin Min Daily News that she was in the supermarket on Aug 2 at around 2pm when she overheard the women, who appeared in their 60s and 80s, gossiping about others and their family affairs.

Huang, who is in her 70s, said the pair appeared to have a close relationship, having held hands while shopping, and seemed to be mother and daughter. 

As someone who doesn’t like to engage in gossip, Huang said that, at one point, she turned around and glanced at the two women. 

"They still continued to gossip so I turned to look at them again," said Huang, who also admitted to muttering the words, "gossiping all day long".

Though she wasn't sure if they had heard her remark, Huang claimed they “suddenly turned violent” when she was at the drinks and biscuits aisle, where she was accosted and pushed to the ground.

"The daughter held my hands and the mother pulled my hair. They pinned me down with great force. I couldn't react in time and didn't have the strength to resist, so my forehead hit the ground," Huang said.

She added that the pair also cursed at her in Hokkien.

"The incident happened so suddenly. I struggled to free myself, and my voice was gone so I couldn't call for help," said Huang, who added that one of the staff members spotted the altercation and pulled the mother and daughter away. 

The police were called in and they scanned through the outlet’s CCTV footage, said Huang. Both parties were spoken to by the police before the mother-daughter pair left.

Huang told Shin Min that aside from losing a clump of hair in the tussle, her head hurt the next day. She also sustained bruises on her arm and a bump on her forehead.

"If it still hurts, I will go and see a doctor as hitting one's head might be a concern," said Huang, who added that she intends to pursue legal action against her alleged aggressors. 

"I really didn't expect to get beaten up at a supermarket."