Upset that a macaque had allegedly stolen his child’s food during a visit to the Singapore Zoo, a man swung his bag at the animal.

In a video posted to TikTok on Sunday (Sept 28), a monkey is seen crawling along a railing while a child looks on. 

Moments later, a man dressed in a blue jersey approaches the monkey and swings his bag at it.

During the attempt, the child beside him — believed to be his son — was accidentally struck by the bag.

Towards the end of the video, a woman can be heard saying, “You don’t do that,” as others nearby voiced their agreement.

According to 8world, the video was recorded by a visitor who said that the incident took place around noon on Sept 27, along the trail leading to the elephant exhibit area.

The visitor, who wished to be known only as Paul, told 8world that prior to the incident, visitors had been laughing and taking photos of the monkeys when one of the animals unexpectedly jumped on a boy and snatched food from his hand.

“I didn’t see what happened at first — I just saw the boy stand up. I turned around and noticed everyone was laughing, so I took out my phone to take a photo of the monkey,” said Paul.

He added that a man suddenly appeared and rushed toward the macaque to attack it, triggering protests from onlookers.

Paul noted that the man, believed to be the boy’s father, left the scene with the child without acknowledging the other visitors.

He had also shown the video to a nearby staff member and told them where the man had gone, but he was not sure if any action was taken.

In the comments to the video, many netizens slammed the man’s aggressive reaction, stating that he was setting a bad example for his child.

Some, however, argued that he was simply a parent trying to protect his kid.

Several also noted that his child had suffered “instant karma” as a result of his father’s action.

“Ended up hitting the kid instead. Good job dad,” wrote one. 

Maintain distance when near wild macaques

According to 8world, a spokesperson for Mandai Wildlife Group said that the diverse landscape of Mandai Wildlife Reserve is home to various native wildlife species, such as long-tailed macaques, flying lemurs, and straw-headed bulbuls.

The spokesperson added that there are signs throughout the zoo to educate visitors on basic park etiquette. 

These include reminders not to eat while walking in the park, to store food and other items properly in sealed bags, and to maintain a safe distance from wild macaques — including avoiding eye contact with them. 

The spokesperson also reminded visitors to use the monkey-proof trash bins throughout the park and added that wildlife guides will be deployed to patrol the zoo.

AsiaOne has reached out to Paul and Mandai Conservation Group for more information. 

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xingying.koh@asiaone.com