Fish store shocker: Customer buys out entire stock, sets them free in Singapore river

A customer left a fish store employee astounded after spending more than 400 Singapore dollars to buy all the fish in the store, only to release them all into a river. The unusual event was reported by local media, following the account of the fish store’s worker.

The male customer walked into the store and stated his intention to purchase all the living fish present. After a selection process, he ended up with about 30 fish in total, including white snappers and at least 10 tilapia, worth 400 Singapore dollars (11,000 baht). He also requested delivery to a riverside location in Bukit Batok, without revealing his plans for the fish.

The employee’s curiosity was piqued when he delivered the fish to the specified location and silently observed the customer.

It turned out that the man intended to release the fish into the canal. In a video he recorded, the customer can be seen carrying a foam box filled with dozens of fish down a staircase. Once he reached the river, he poured all the fish into the water at once, reported Sanook.

A 62 year old man named Luo also witnessed the scene.

“I’m convinced he released the fish with good intentions. When he released the fish into the water, he smiled with happiness and satisfaction.”

His act quickly became a trend on social media, with many netizens praising him and wanting to emulate him. Many people say that releasing fish is a good deed that many Buddhists perform, and most people do it on special occasions, such as a full moon day. But this man did it on an ordinary day. Perhaps he was going through something and wanted to accumulate merit or karma.

The Singapore government did not support unrestricted fish release. According to the official website of the city council, indiscriminately releasing animals into the water can damage the ecosystem and prevent the animals from adapting to the environment, leading to their death.

Under Singapore law, releasing animals into a national park or nature reserve without permission is illegal, and fines can be as high as 50,000 Singapore dollars (1.35 million baht). The unauthorised release of wildlife is also a violation of the Wildlife Act, which carries a fine of 5,000 Singapore dollars if found guilty.

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