Within a day after it was reported that a BMW driver had allegedly refused to pay for his full tank of fuel at Caltex Tampines, Singaporeans have found the vehicle, along with a host of other information about it.
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1. Hotly searched
Within several hours on April 15, 2018, typing “SLT” — the first three letters in the license plate prefix belonging to the BMW — would cause Google Search to autocomplete the entire alpha numeral string:
2. New license plate
“SLT” license plate prefix was out in August 2017:
But…
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3. Forum users have come to the conclusion that the vehicle is an old model, likely 10 years old
This is due to the car’s make and worn out look.
Therefore, old car but new license plate.
The guess is that it is bought second-hand.
4. Managed to dig up the vehicle’s road tax details
Other users point to the road tax details publicly available online.
5. Car was discovered to have been parked illegally in the central western part of Singapore
This was a day after the incident.
There was apparently a parking ticket visible on the windshield.
However, forum users claimed the decal has been removed from the windscreen, so the residential address the car is registered with is not revealed.
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6. Online details reveal the car purchases season parking in Tampines
7. Chinese newspaper reported someone tried to pay the outstanding bill after the incident
Translation of last paragraph: “When the reporter went to the petrol kiosk, the staff present did not want to be interviewed. The staff involved in the incident was on off that morning. But based on what another colleague said, someone came back after the incident and paid off the outstanding bill.”
Caltex has said the staff involved did not pay anything.
It is not clear if the person who allegedly returned to pay the bill is the BMW driver.
8. One forum user gave an Einstein explanation as to how the instruction of the BMW driver might have been unclear
“Pump fuel ten” means pump 10 dollars worth of fuel, but sounds like “pump full tank”.
Cool story bro.
Reliability of information
All the information presented above are publicly available and can be found via search engines and government portals open for public access.
Other information found on forums and across social media either making unsubstantiated claims and allegations or second-guessing the possible motive of the driver, have not been reproduced here.
Other details that have not been reproduced include the exact locations where the BMW was last seen.
Caltex response:
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SINGAPORE - Caltex Singapore is investigating an incident on Saturday (April 14) involving an elderly pump attendant from its petrol kiosk in Tampines Avenue 8, after he offered to pay $125 for a customer's full tank of petrol due to an alleged mistake.
In response to the incident, which has since gone viral on Facebook, Caltex Singapore reassured motorists that the attendant "did not bear any financial obligation".
Facebook user Kelly Yeo wrote to Caltex Singapore about the incident involving a BMW driver in a post on Saturday. Another user, Willie Kok Heng Chua, shared Ms Yeo's post on his Facebook on Saturday night, which went viral with more than 24,000 shares and 6,700 comments within 12 hours.
In the post, she said the BMW driver claimed that the pump attendant had mistakenly refilled his car with a full tank, which costs about $135, even though he had only asked for $10 worth of petrol.
When the driver insisted that he would only fork out $10, the pump attendant, who looked to be in his 60s, told the cashier that he would personally bear the rest of the bill.
The pump attendant explained to the cashier that he had heard the driver mention that he wanted a full tank refill. This was rebutted by the driver.
Many netizens, like Ms Yeo, wondered if the driver could have responded more graciously by paying for the petrol, as he would have used it anyway.
The Caltex petrol station along Tampines Avenue 1, where the incident allegedly took place. PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS
Others also asked if Caltex Singapore would allow the pump attendant to pay just a partial amount, even if it was a genuine mistake.
Caltex Singapore said in its Facebook post that it is heartened by the solidarity and care shown towards its Tampines team.
"Do be assured that our station manager, together with the management team are looking into this issue now and an investigation is ongoing," it said.
Chinese-language newspaper Shin Min Daily News reported on Sunday that several motorists and nearby residents had visited the petrol kiosk to offer the pump attendant some money.
A regular customer, who gave his name as Mr Wang, said that he wanted to help as he recognised that working in a petrol kiosk can be tough, and at times, mistakes may occur.
When The Straits Times visited on Sunday afternoon, pump attendants at the station said the driver had claimed that the car was not his and that he had borrowed it. Hence, he was only replacing the petrol he had used.
They added that they have not encountered such incidents before and were grateful that the company would be absorbing the cost.
But they said that attendants are reminded to check with customers before they start filling up their vehicles.
It is also known to staff that they will made to bear the cost if they make a mistake, such as pumping the wrong grade of petrol or filling a diesel car with petrol.
"A lot of people have come up to offer the attendant money after reading what happened," said an attendant, who declined to be named.
"Many wondered out loud how much can $10 worth of petrol last, and weren't convinced by the man's explanation."
Caltex Singapore has advised the public to refrain from commenting about the driver or those involved while its team is looking into the incident.
Caltex, an international petrol station chain, has responded to a Facebook post uploaded by a member of the public about how a senior pump attendant was compelled to pay for a driver's petrol after the driver insisted that he did not ask for a full top up of his vehicle, stating that the attendant will not have to bear the cost of the petrol and an investigation will be made into the matter.
Miss Kelly Yeo had written to Caltex Singapore on Saturday evening to describe an incident that she witnessed and asked for clarification from the company.
She wrote,
"I earlier witnessed an incident at Caltex Tampines Ave 8 @2pm on 14 April and it filled me with such indignation that it prompted me to write this to you, hoping that you could help alleviate the financial obligation of your employee and implement appropriate measures to handle the incident as follows. While processing payment at the Cashier counter, the customer (picture uploaded herewith) and driver of BMW vehicle SLTXXXXG, claimed that your pump attendant had mistakenly refilled a full tank of petrol costing about $135 for his vehicle instead of the $10 petrol that he had instructed at Pump 7. He refused to pay the full amount and insisted to pay only $10 for the full tank. The pump attendant probably in his early 60s, was subsequently summoned to the Cashier counter to verify. He explained that he had heard that it was a full tank refill but the customer immediately rebutted it. What happened next astonished me. Instead of creating a scene by engaging in an argument with the customer, the elderly pump attendant calmly informed the Cashier to let the customer pay $10 and he would personally absorb the rest of the cost. As a result, the customer walked away smugly paying a mere $10 payment for a full tank of petrol for his BMW Series 5 vehicle. Whilst I was impressed with the collected composure and professional customer service that both your Cashier and pump attendant had displayed throughout the incident, I am deeply disturbed that the customer had capitalized on the opportunity to make the elderly pump attendant pay for the supposedly oversight. The customer could have responded gentlemanly and be gracious to forgive by paying for the petrol since his vehicle would need to consume it anyway. Alternatively, he could have paid for a partial amount instead of making the elderly pump attendant bear the full $125. Unfortunately, this was not so. I have done some online research and noticed that the remuneration of a pump attendant averages about $1600/mth in Singapore. $125 means a significant 8% of his meagre salary. Would Caltex consider waiving this amount or allowing the pump attendant to pay at cost? Also, assuming it was entirely the pump attendant’s oversight, under such circumstances, perhaps the Cashier could have proposed to the customer to pay for a partial amount instead of allowing the elderly pump attendant bear full monetary responsibility?"
Ms Yeo also suggested that Caltex could perhaps install CCTVs equipped with audio recording of drivers’ instructions to the pump attendants at each pump for proof of evidence and asked what are Caltex’s existing guidelines and policies to handle such situation?
"I am concerned that if no effective standard operating systems are defined, such practices of having pump attendants to bear the price discrepancies can lead to abuse. Imagine if one uses this approach on each petrol station in Singapore every few days, it is tantamount to one walking away striking lottery frequently and the accumulated value will be very substantial!" wrote Ms Yeo.
Ms Yeo had also earlier made a similar post on the Facebook page but removed it as the posted image showed the facial features of the driver and the license plate number of the driver. However, by the time Ms Yeo took down the original post, the image has been widely circulated.
The post made by Ms Yeo was shared close to 1000 times while another separate post by another Facebook user which shows the unedited photo and Ms Yeo's comments had over 10,000 shares.
Many took the stand that the driver shown in Ms Yeo's post had scammed the old attendant and made use of him to pay for his petrol bill while a very small segment of them noted that the vehicle could be a test drive vehicle or rental vehicle but acknowledged that the driver could have offered other alternatives than to have the poor attendant to foot the balance of the bill.
On Sunday, Caltex published a status update on its Facebook page in response to Ms Yeo's query to assure the community that its Caltex attendant did not bear any financial obligation from the events highlighted by Ms Yeo.
It noted that its station manager, together with the management team are looking into this issue now and an investigation is ongoing. The company, at the same time, asked everyone to refrain from any personal or group responses towards the driver or those involved as its team is already looking into resolving this.
Over the weekend, the latest Singaporean Viral Issue revolved around an incident that took place in Tampines on Saturday afternoon — an incident that united the nation against an alleged High SES dastard who took advantage of an elderly Caltex pump attendant.
The pump diaries
In a post on the Caltex Singapore Facebook page, a woman by the name of Kelly Yeo wrote about a BMW driver who got out of paying the total cost of filling up a full tank. Here’s what happened, according to her anecdote:
At about 2pm on Saturday, a driver of a BMW Series 5 car claimed that a pump attendant had mistakenly filled up his car with S$135 worth of gas when he only asked for S$10 worth.
He refused to pay the full amount, insisting that he would only fork out the S$10 he asked for.
The pump attendant — who looked to be in his 60s — was called to the cashier counter. He clarified that he heard the driver saying a “full tank refill,” but the driver denied everything.
Surprisingly, the pump attendant conceded and said that he would absorb the S$125 for the full tank of petrol due to his alleged oversight.
The driver was obviously thrilled to hear this and “walked away smugly.”
“The customer could have responded gentlemanly and be gracious to forgive by paying for the petrol since his vehicle would need to consume it anyway,” wrote Yeo. “Alternatively, he could have paid for a partial amount instead of making the elderly pump attendant bear the full $125. Unfortunately, this was not so.”
The disturbing incident prompted Yeo to write in to Caltex in a bid to alleviate the financial burden of the elderly uncle, pointing out that S$125 takes away a significant amount of a pump attendant’s monthly salary. She also proposed more measures at Caltex petrol stations to ensure that pump attendants aren’t abused in the very same way.
“Would Caltex consider waiving this amount or allowing the pump attendant to pay at cost?” she queried.
Caltex responds
As you would imagine with these kinds of stories, the post went viral and was shared and republished on numerous other Facebook pages. Fortunately, Caltex Singapore was quick to respond. On Sunday morning, it posted an update on the situation and assured the public that the pump attendant would not have to bear the high costs borne from the alleged misunderstanding.
“Do be assured that our station manager, together with the management team are looking into this issue now and an investigation is ongoing,” it wrote, advising everyone to refrain from looking for the BMW driver in subject.
Man found
But as Singaporeans are wont to do in viral cases of misdeeds, justice was sought after through an online witch-hunt. Last night, the BMW Series 5 sedan was found parked at a loading and unloading bay of an HDB estate along Jalan Teck Whye.
Meanwhile, alleged pictures of the dude have also appeared on various pages and forums, but we won’t publish it here for the lynch mobs. Investigations are still ongoing, and we’ll update this article when more details arrive.
