The Singapore Armed Forces’ Basic Military Training Centre (BMTC) has said in a statement that recruits are not barred from patronising the McDonald’s outlet at White Sands mall, contrary to alleged rumours circulating online.
Pasir Ris is the shuttle pick-up point for all full-time national servicemen undergoing basic military training at Pulau Tekong, with White Sands being the closest shopping centre.
In a clarification posted to Facebook on Saturday (Nov 29), it stated: “We wish to clarify that recruits are free to spend their personal time as they wish when they book-out, and they are expected to maintain good conduct at all times. There are no restrictions imposed by BMTC.”
Netizen alleged McDonald’s ‘ban’ in video comment
The claim had reportedly arisen following a TikTok video posted on Nov 26 by entrepreneur and content creator Nison Chan.
Chan had addressed an incident where a female netizen allegedly called out a man in army uniform for sitting in an MRT train. She asked him to stand and slammed him for “being a baby” after he complained of sore legs when confronted, sparking a storm of discussion online.
One commenter to Chan’s video then claimed that BMTC banned recruits from patronising the McDonald’s outlet at White Sands in Pasir Ris following complaints by members of the public.
The user, JN888, alleged in another comment that their twin sons serving national service (NS) had been given the instruction by their commanders.
In a follow-up video, Chan appeared astonished by the “rule” and asked followers to verify the claims.
“Who is to deny a paying customer? I just don’t get it,” said Chan.
However, in a clip the next day, Chan stated that he understood the reason behind the instruction after speaking to “someone credible”.
“It is true that the recruits are told to go home after book-out and this is really to safeguard the image of the recruits,” he stated.
“Let’s face a fact, everything that a soldier does in public is hugely magnified by the public. We all know how harsh they can be with photos and videos and these materials can be totally taken out of context even though our soldiers have done nothing wrong,” Chan explained.
Following BMTC’s clarification on Facebook, Chan noted: “Now we can all eat McDonald’s in peace.”
BMTC’s post has since drawn over 180 comments on Facebook, with many users doubting the original claims.
However, one commenter wrote: “All of us who served NS before will know BMTC no such rules, but maybe battalion or company-level have such rules.”
Another stated: “Recruits are young boys too… Please give them the deserved break when they book out. As long (as they maintain) good conduct in uniforms in public, why not?!”
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