She was the only person tending the store on Saturday afternoon (August 27) when a woman broke into the store, causing havoc and even assaulting her.
Store manager Jenny Lee, 43, said she was truly afraid for her life when the incident occurred at Sauce Legend, a boutique of local sauce maker Nanyang Sauce at Jewel Changi Airport.
Lee told the Shin Min Daily News that at 1 p.m. a woman, believed to be in her 50s or 60s, ran into the store, overturned tables and smashed some items to the ground.
She even broke the amazing trophy awarded by the National Heritage Board to the shopkeeper’s mother, the second-generation owner of Nanyang Sauce.
In a Facebook post, Lee said it was the store’s “most valuable item.”
When Lee tried to stop the woman from leaving, she grabbed her by the hair and dragged her outside.
“She was very powerful and I couldn’t escape her grasp,” Lee told Shin Min, adding that the woman muttered gibberish throughout the ordeal.
“I felt both scared and ashamed, as if I was being paraded in public for doing something wrong.”
Two witnesses yelled at the woman to stop, but she continued to pull on Lee’s hair. The woman fled the scene after bystanders entered.
Ms Lee said part of her hair had been pulled out by a woman. Fortunately, doctors assessed her injuries as minor.
In a photo posted on Sauce Legend’s Facebook page, the store was left in disarray, with a rice cooker containing chicken rice toppled over and broken soy sauce bottles and utensils littering the floor.
Lee said he had seen the woman patronize the store a few times, and the last time he saw her was a month or two ago.
Whenever she came over, she muttered words she didn’t understand, but never showed any signs of violence.
The woman was petite and always wore a long dress. She also had a backpack and some bags. During Saturday’s meet, she was dressed similarly.
Police are investigating the matter.
