Viral Video of ‘Tampines Mall’ Stabbing Actually Happened At Pluit Village Mall In Indonesia

We’ve been in a gripping battle with fake news for awhile now.

Blame social media, speculative netizens or even trigger-happy Singaporeans who share information without checking its authenticity.

And in the latest episode of #FakeNews in Singapore:

A 19-second video claiming to be a “fatal stabbing incident at Tampines Mall” was circulated on WhatsApp amongst Singaporeans since 27 August.

It has also since been re-uploaded on Twitter.

Viewer discretion is advised:

Now before you vow to never step foot in Tampines Mall or even Tampines ever again, there’s a plot twist:

This most probably didn’t happen in Singapore. It actually happened in a mall in Indonesia.

Here’s a little more about the contents of the video in case you’d rather not watch it:

Blood is smeared on the floor of a shopping mall outside an eatery.

A crowd has formed around the pool of blood, and the victim is lying on the floor while a few men attempt to help.

A lady is seen talking on the phone in the video, perhaps calling for help or for an ambulance.

The question now is, did it really happen in Singapore?

Well, the answer is no.

MSNews identified some key pointers in the video that helped to establish the authenticity of the location:

OVO Signboard Spotted In Video

An OVO signboard outside the mall was spotted in the video.

This is a clear giveaway as OVO, a payment option that gives cashback is popular in Indonesia but is currently unavailable in Singapore.

Granny Signboard Isn’t From An Eatery In Singapore

Also, the signboard of a grandma was spotted in the background. However, no such signboard exists in Tampines Mall.

Indonesian News Reports Dispute Outside Restaurant

Indonesian news sites have reported a dispute between a manager and employee on Sunday, 25 August outside Bananai Restaurant, located at Pluit Village Mall in Jakarta.

Investigations regarding the stabbing are still ongoing and currently, Bananai Restaurant is still closed.

Our heart goes out for the victim in this senseless tragedy. Hopefully, investigations will be completed soon and the truth will be out.

In the meantime, we hope that netizens will continue being cautious when receiving unverified information online.

If not ah…