Bugis thrift store owner kicks 30 youngsters out for ‘wreaking havoc’
A thrift store owner has aired her frustrations online after 30 youngsters visited her store and allegedly “wreaked havoc”.
They blocked the store’s entrance and chased away customers, she claimed. So she kicked them out.
In a TikTok video, a user named Venus posted slides of the inside of her shop, A-ikigai at Golden Landmark Shopping Complex in Bugis, crowded with young people.
She said they were a “group of friends… about 30 of them” and quipped: “In most cases that could be considered (an) illegal gathering.”
Calling them “horrible persons”, she said they were “loud and obnoxious” and making “fools out of themselves”.
She zoomed in on two of the alleged troublemakers and captioned the slide: “Especially these two.”
She said she eventually kicked the rowdy group out of the store, telling them to “Get out!”
According to her, they were not happy about it.
In one of the slides, Venus said she loves people and chatting with customers, but would not entertain “public nuisance” in her store.
She added that she would not hesitate to kick such people out again and commented: “AIKIGAI is a sustainable store, not your school canteen. NOT THE ZOO.”
The post has since received more than 272,000 views and 18,000 likes.
On Sunday (Nov 5), Venus posted another TikTok video in which she said the figure of 30 wasn’t an exaggeration, and the youngsters caused her distress as she usually tends to the store alone.
She also shared that she made the original post to raise awareness “to NEVER do this to not just my business but others too”.
Venus, who described herself as an ordinary individual – a mother doing something she loves – revealed that she has since made a police report.
She added that she would not hesitate to call for help if the same thing happened again. But she asked that people not bully any of the youngsters if they knew them.
Two of them have apologised to her, she revealed in the video.
She also took the opportunity to thank people for their support and kind comments, saying: “I really do appreciate being understood.”
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