SINGAPORE: A 38-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday (Apr 21) after an argument broke out at the Playmade bubble tea shop in Waterway Point.
The police said they received a call for assistance at about 9.40pm at the mall, located at 83 Punggol Central, and arrested the man for public nuisance.
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Videos of the incident have been widely shared on social media. In the footage, a GrabFood delivery rider is seen having a heated argument with Playmade employees.
[h=3]READ: Playmade bubble tea shop first establishment fined for flouting COVID-19 safe distancing measures[/h][h=3]READ: From bubble tea runs to getting a haircut: What you can or cannot do under tighter COVID-19 circuit breaker rules[/h] AdvertisementAdvertisementIn a Facebook post on Wednesday morning, Playmade said it was aware of the videos.
“During this time, our team had received over 150 different orders (an average of 600 cups) via delivery alone within the last hour of closing, despite efforts to stop orders from coming through.
"This had brought immense pressure on both our team and delivery riders to complete within that short time frame to closing,” it said.
The bubble tea chain added that it is “thoroughly investigating” the incident with the relevant authorities, and also apologised to customers and delivery riders who were affected.
[h=3]READ: COVID-19: Go out alone for essential needs, don't make it a ‘family outing’, say Singapore leaders[/h][h=3]READ: Visits to 4 popular markets to be restricted based on patrons' IC numbers: NEA[/h]The incident at Waterway Point took place shortly after the authorities said that more shops and food and beverage outlets in Singapore will have to suspend operations, following the trimming of essential services as part of stricter measures to stem the spread of COVID-19.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday announced the extension of the current "circuit breaker" period for another four weeks until Jun 1, to "decisively" bring down the number of coronavirus cases.
CNA has contacted Playmade and GrabFood for comment.
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