Woman admits to verbally abusing, spitting at KFC staff
SINGAPORE — After waiting for her order at a branch of fast-food chain KFC for six minutes, a woman became upset and demanded that she be served it immediately.
When the KFC staff declined, an irate Lin Si Ting cursed at the staff member and spat at her twice.
At the State Courts on Thursday (28 January), Lin, 43, admitted to one count each of intentionally causing distress and of using criminal force on the 40-year-old female staff, who was the service manager at the Nex outlet at the time.
A mandatory treatment order suitability report was called for Lin, who is currently undergoing treatment with the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for schizophrenia. The prosecution told the court that Lin’s mental disorder had a contributory link to her offences.
The incident involving Lin on 22 April last year was filmed and uploaded by a patron who witnessed the entire affair. The video was widely shared and sparked outrage. The altercation was also caught on CCTV camera.
Hurled vulgarities
Lin entered the KFC outlet at Nex at 12.36pm on the day of the incident, and placed an order at the counter four minutes later.
Some six minutes later, she approached the counter and shouted at the KFC staff, including the victim, asking why her order was taking so long. The victim apologised to her and said that there were orders ahead of hers.
However, Lin demanded that she be given her order immediately. The victim declined to do so as it would not be fair to other patrons. She asked Lin to wait for five more minutes.
Upset, Lin demanded a refund and the victim agreed. When the staff asked for her receipt, Lin threw it at her.
As the victim was processing the refund, Lin pulled down her mask and hurled vulgarities at her. She then pointed at the victim and uttered, “Wait for you to die, wait for your whole family to die!”. She leaned forward and spat at the victim twice, with spittle landing on the victim’s arm.
Lin then took her cash and stalked off. A few minutes later however, she returned, claiming that she had not been refunded the full amount.
The victim checked the order records and confirmed that the refunded amount was correct, but Lin started shouting that the victim had shortchanged her.
The staff asked her colleagues to call the police for assistance but Lin left before the police arrived.
Lin, who is represented by lawyer Chen Chi, will returned to court for her sentencing on 25 February.
If convicted of intentional harassment, Lin faces a fine of up to $5,000, or a jail term of up to six months, or both.
For using criminal force on a person, she may be jailed for a maximum of three months, or fined up to $1,500, or both, if convicted.
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