Woman upset at Toa Payoh stall for serving customer with guide dog, returns twice more to leave note

A woman was so incensed to see a chicken rice stall serving a visually impaired customer with a guide dog that she returned on another two more occasions to make her point.

The incident occurred at Poh Kee Chicken Rice, located at Block 206 Toa Payoh North, on Friday (June 23).

Recounting the incident on Facebook, stall owner Michael Poh said that the woman had seen his wife serving a visually impaired customer who was accompanied by a guide dog, then claimed that Mr Poh's wife did not wash her hands afterwards.

The 43-year-old said: "My wife told her nicely that she did, but the lady claimed that she did not see it. My wife then told her that she was seated so far from my stall, how could she have seen her washing inside the stall. The lady maintained that she did not see it.

"So I came out from my stall to ask her what was the matter. She said that dogs are not allowed in the food shop. I replied nicely that she was a guide dog belonging to a visually impaired person, and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) allows guide dogs to accompany the owners into the shop regardless it's for takeaway or dining in.

"If she doesn't know this, I am more than happy to show her proof and educate her on this matter.

"But she remained unhappy and said she will make things difficult for me, cos no matter what dog, dogs are dogs."

The guide dog that was with the visually impaired customer.

On Saturday, an employee at the coffee shop passed Mr Poh "a slip of paper" from the woman.

The paper was a printout of a Google search for "Are dogs allowed in Kopitiam?" with one result saying "Unfortunately, no."

Mr Poh explained that the canine in question was a guide dog and thought that was it.

However, the woman returned to Mr Poh's stall on Sunday when it was closed to paste another copy of the printout on the counter.

CCTV footage shows the woman stepping into the empty stall and sticking a piece of paper on the counter.

The incident prompted Mr Poh to lodge a police report.

He added: "Who knows what audacious things she will do in the future if I do not make a report?"

Referring to the woman, Mr Poh said: "Pasting paper like this, u think u loan shark meh....."

In response to a Stomp query, the police confirm that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing.

Guide dogs are allowed in restaurants, food courts and cafes. They are also approved and allowed in halal-certified premises, according to an Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) advisory. More info about guide dogs in Singapore can be found here.