A Singapore mother was left shocked after she said a male commuter tried to feed her 17-month-old son a half-eaten bun while they were travelling on an MRT train.
Yanti Lala said she was travelling from Jurong East to Bukit Gombak on the night of Sept 11 when the man boarded the train and eventually sat on the floor beside her son’s pram.
The man began eating a bun, which initially caught Yanti’s attention only because she thought he was breaking the MRT’s no-eating rule.
However, she said she was horrified when the stranger suddenly attempted to feed the remaining portion of his bun to her son, Khalis.
“It happened so quickly that by the time I realised what was happening, the pau was already right in front of Khalis’ mouth,” Yanti said in a TikTok post about the incident.
She said her son was about to take a bite before she screamed and pulled him closer.
“Who in their right mind thinks it’s okay to feed a stranger’s baby, especially with half-eaten food?!” she said.
Yanti said she had been seated in a priority seat, with Khalis in his pram in front of her and her other son sitting beside her.
She had briefly turned her attention towards her other child when the incident happened.
According to Yanti, the man appeared shocked when she shouted and gasped, while his expression made her feel as though he thought she was overreacting.
A video posted by Yanti shows Khalis looking towards the man, who was wearing a lime green shirt and continued eating his bun while shaking his head.
Yanti said she repeatedly told her son “No” and turned the pram away to make it clear that he was not allowed to eat the food.
She said her concerns were not only about hygiene but also whether the food was halal, as her family is Muslim.
“We are Muslim, so I am careful about what my children consume and whether the food is permissible for them,” she said.
“I wouldn’t want my son to be eating anything with [a] stranger’s saliva on it,” she added.
Yanti said she did not confront the man because her family was already approaching their stop and she did not have the opportunity to speak to him.
She also did not report the incident to SMRT or station staff, saying it was the first time she had experienced something like this.
“I don’t mind when strangers sayang sayang [show affection to] my children, but to give unknown food to my child? That’s a whole new level,” she said.
The mother told Mothership that while the gesture might appear harmless to some, parents and children have different boundaries that should be respected.
Her TikTok post had received more than 118,000 views at the time of writing, with many users expressing shock over the incident.
Some users pointed out that the man could not have known whether the child had any food allergies, while others criticised him for shaking his head after Yanti intervened.
Several commenters also noted that eating and drinking are prohibited on Singapore’s MRT trains and at stations, with some suggesting the man should have been reported to station staff.
Under Singapore’s Rapid Transit Systems Regulations, passengers are prohibited from consuming food or drinks on trains or at stations. MRT signs state that those caught eating or drinking can be fined up to S$500.
