Commuter upset after seeing an elderly man with a prosthetic standing on crowded MRT

Independent Singapore

a day ago

SINGAPORE: A commuter felt upset after witnessing an elderly uncle with a prosthetic leg forced to stand on a packed MRT train, while younger passengers stayed seated and looked away.
Sharing the incident on the r/SMRTRabak forum on Friday (July 11), the commuter uploaded a photo of the uncle standing near the train doors, holding a walking cane in one hand and gripping the handrail tightly with the other.
According to the post, an SMRT staff member eventually stepped in to help and asked a younger man to give up his seat, but the man 'shook his head and ignored the staff.'
'Luckily, Uncle got off at the next station,' the commuter said. 'But it felt like with the Stomp saga of the pregnant lady who didn't ask for seats, same as this uncle.'
He went on to question whether the issue might go beyond just people lacking empathy.
'It really makes me wonder what the root of the problem is… Is it that our train cabins are designed with too much standing room and not enough seats in the first place, forcing these uncomfortable situations to happen so often, or what?' he said.
'Technically, it's not illegal to not give up seats, right? Probably just will feel bad or something?' he added. '…there are not enough people with empathy.'
In the comments, many others shared that they've had similar experiences. One user said they had a broken leg and were on crutches, but people still rushed ahead to take empty seats before they could even reach them.
They added, 'Oftentimes, only the auntie/uncle will offer me a seat, but I feel too bad to take their seat, so I just stand.'
Another wrote, 'It's sad, man, to see an uncle that old age plus wearing prosthetics and not having a seat on a train… (Shakes head). Where is the humanity?!'
A third remarked, 'The root of the problem is, there are not enough people with empathy.'
On the other hand, there were also those who defended the young man who declined to give up his seat.
One user explained, 'What if… the young fella also got issues but not as visible. Giving up a seat should be done out of one's own will. Not being asked to do so.
I got asked to give up my seat once by an angmoh tourist and was met with a look of disgust when I refused. I was recovering from breaking my back. It felt damn offensive.'
Another commented, 'I'm assuming the young chap was in a non-reserved seat, right? He's not obligated to give up.'
In other news, a Singaporean man who was laid off earlier this year from his role as a tech project manager shared on Reddit that he's been unemployed for over five months and is starting to feel discouraged about his job search.
Posting on the r/singaporefi subreddit, he explained that since losing his job, he has been actively applying for roles, customising his resume for each position, and doing everything people typically advise during a job hunt.
However, despite all his efforts, he has received only three interview calls so far, and unfortunately, none of them have led to a job offer.
Read more: 'They mind my gap': Laid-off tech worker says 5 months of job hunting have led to only 3 interviews