Security Guard in Tangs Allegedly Chased Person in Wheelchair Out When He Just Wanted to Buy Something

If you’ve seen the film Pretty Woman, you might remember that scene where the protagonist was turned away from a store which sold luxury designer clothing because she didn’t look ‘rich’ enough.

Viewers, of course, sided with the protagonist, because the store owners discriminated against her based on her appearance.

Sadly, the very same thing happened to a man in Singapore recently, all because he happened to be in a wheelchair.

Security Guard in Tangs Allegedly Chased Person in Wheelchair Out When He Just Wanted to Buy Something

A 40-year-old man was allegedly chased out of a Tangs department store because he was assumed to be a wheelchair-bound beggar.

In reality, the man, Wesley Wee, is a published author who suffers from cerebral palsy.

In an interview with Lianhe Wanbao, the 40-year-old recounted the incident which occurred at Tangs on Orchard Road on Sunday (22 Nov).

Wee had visited the store to buy some household products.

At the time, there were several pop-up booths selling various items, and so Wee decided to browse around for a bit before deciding on an item.

However, when he wanted to buy something, the booth owner ignored him.

As cerebral palsy can sometimes make one’s speech slurred or difficult to understand, Wee chose to type out his request – to pay for the item through Paylah.

But when he approached two cashiers for help, one of them rejected him before even reading his message. The other said they did not accept payment via Paylah.

The worst was yet to come, however.

A security officer in the area then shouted at Wee: “Don’t ask the people here for money!”.

Shocked, Wee tried to inform the officer about his condition, but said the officer simply ignored him and continued to chase him away.

Security Officer: “Don’t Disturb People Here”

When Wee tried to enter department store, the same security officer followed him, saying, “Don’t disturb people here.”

Since he didn’t want to make a scene, Wee left the store, and informed his wife about the incident.

She asked a friend in the area to help her husband out, but by the time she reached the department store, both the security officer and the booth owner had left.

Tangs’ Response

A female cashier who was there at the time came to know about Wee’s story and informed a Tangs manager and the head of security.

Both immediately came forward to apologise to Wee.

A Tangs spokesperson said they have launched an internal investigation and reached out to Wee to formally apologise to him.

The spokesperson added that the security officer might have had to raise his voice to be heard over the din of the peak hour rush.

This may have caused a misunderstanding with Wee, he said.

The security staff have been spoken to over the incident, and reminded to treat every customer with respect.

Earlier this year, Tangs hit the headlines after a promoter at one of its pop-up booths was allegedly told to remove her hijab.

As this incident proves, you should never judge someone based on their appearance.

Featured Image: TK Kurikawa / Shutterstock.com