‘I’m not a beggar’: man in wheelchair rejected by Tangs security officer, Singapore News



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Wesley Wee is a published author who suffers from cerebral palsy, but in the eyes of Tangs security personnel, he was just a beggar in a wheelchair and kicked out of department stores.

“I am not a beggar,” he lamented in an interview with Lianhe Wanbao.

The 40-year-old recounted how he had gone to Tangs on Orchard Road on Sunday (November 22) to buy some household goods when he ran into the security officer.

Seeing that there were several booths pop-up in front of Tangs, he went over to take a look before deciding to buy from one of them. However, the booth owner ignored it, Wee said.

Knowing that her status did not make her speech clear, she wrote her request (pay for an item through Paylah) and approached a couple of tellers for help.

One of them declined even before reading your message, while the other apologized and said they did not accept payment through Paylah.

It was at that moment that the loud voice of a security officer cut through the air shouting: “Don’t ask the people here for money!

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Wee freaked out, but understood it was just a misunderstanding and tried to explain himself. Unfortunately, he said the officer paid him no heed and continued to chase him away.

When Wee walked into the department store, the other one followed him and said, “Don’t bother the people here.”

Unwilling to make a scene, Wee left, although he left a message for his wife, Lorena, informing her of what had happened. He then asked a friend who was in the area to come over and help him.

By then, the security officer and booth personnel had left. In her place was a cashier.

Upon learning of Wee’s experience from her friend, she informed a Tangs manager and the chief of security of the matter. They both immediately came over to apologize to him.

In response to inquiries from the Chinese evening newspaper, a spokesperson for Tangs said they had launched an internal investigation and had also contacted Wee to apologize to him.

The spokesperson added that security officials could raise their voices to be heard during rush hours, which may have caused a misunderstanding with Wee.

They have since reported the issue to security officers and reminded all customer service personnel to treat each customer with respect.

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