Uncle quarrels with younger man over MRT priority seat: 'You're Malaysian, go back to your country'

Remember when the MRT staff would hold up signs to remind you to refrain from talking on the train because of the coronavirus? They seemed to have stopped doing that.

An uncle was caught on camera quarrelling loudly in Mandarin with a younger man on a North-South line train, making the other passengers uncomfortable.

Both men were seated across the train carriage from each other during their heated exchange in the video shared by Stomper Leo.

The video, which is more than two minutes long, starts in medias res with a passenger sitting next to the uncle getting up to stand elsewhere in the carriage.

The uncle can be heard telling the younger man to go back to his country.

The younger man, who was in a priority seat, retorted: "I cannot hear. I cannot hear what you are saying."

Both were speaking through masks.

Gesturing angrily at the younger man with his phone, the uncle said: "You cannot hear. You are pretending. You are Malaysian."

Younger man: "So what if I'm Malaysian?"

Uncle: "Go back to your country. Go back to Malaysia. Stop earning Singapore money. If you have guts, go back to Malaysia."

Younger man: "You talk very loudly."

Uncle: "You do not respect your elders."

Younger man: "Quiet, quiet."

Uncle: "That seat is meant for the elderly."

Younger man: "I know."

Uncle: "You know? You did not give up the seat."

Younger man: "You are the one who does not know."

Uncle: "You are lying, you don't know."

Younger man: "What are you doing? You are just throwing a tantrum. If you are not happy, you can hit me. Do you dare?"

Uncle: "I will not hit you."

The younger man raised his voice: "I will let you hit me. Do you dare?"

Uncle: "I will not hit you."

Younger man: "Stop criticising me. I have never been criticised since young. What are you saying?"

Uncle: "You should let the elderly have the seat."

Younger man: "Have I offended you? Is there an elderly person beside me now?"

The uncle pointed to someone in the carriage and said: "That one."

At this point, a voice announced that the train had reached Yew Tee station.

The uncle then repeated: "Malaysian, go back to your country. You are here to earn the Singapore dollar. I am Singaporean."

They were now talking over each other.

Younger man: "I am now on my way back to Malaysia. If you have guts, come and hit me. Do not just talk."

Uncle: "I will not hit you. Go back to Malaysia."

The younger man held up his phone and said: "I will take your picture. When you go out, be careful."

Uncle: "You take my picture? I take your picture. Let's see who is afraid of who."

The younger man chuckled.

Uncle: "You are Malaysian. I am afraid of you?"

Younger man: "You don't go to Malaysia, I tell you."

Now passengers were clearing the seats next to the younger man.

Uncle: "Go back to Malaysia! Go back to Johor Bahru. You earn Singapore dollar, you take the priority seat."

The younger man suddenly lost it and shouted at the top of his voice: "Should I give the seat to you?"

The uncle pointed to the seats next to the younger man and said: "Sit there, sit there."

The younger man pointed to the same seats: "Why don't you come here?"

He then stood up and pointed at the priority seat: "I let you sit. Come!"

Uncle: "You sit. You sit."

At this point, a man in a pink shirt came over from another carriage and put his hand on the younger man's shoulder to get him to walk away from the confrontation.

Before leaving, the pink-shirt man turned around and said to the uncle: "Be careful what you say."

The uncle replied: "I will be careful. Thank you."

Another man also came forward and gestured to the uncle to calm down before walking away.

The video ends there.