Says he was physically intimidated by staff despite being able to show receipt
Marks and Spencer in Chiswick
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Says he was physically intimidated by staff despite being able to show receipt
A prominent politician from Singapore has accused Marks and Spencer staff of treating him like an animal after he says he was falsely accused of shoplifting at its Chiswick store.
63-year-old Kenneth Jeyaretnam, who is the Secretary General of the opposition Reform Party, was visiting the UK with his wife Amanda. She had suffered from a slipped disc so had asked him to go to the High Road to pick up provisions this Saturday (24 September).
On leaving the store he was stopped by a security guard and made to go to a windowless office despite being able to show a receipt for the goods that he had just purchased at the till with his American Express Card using an M&S loyalty card. Mr Jeyaretnam claims two guards physically bundled him into the room.
During an ordeal that last around an hour, the Cambridge graduate was told that he was being detained for suspected theft but he said that his request that the police be called was declined. He alleges a search of his personal possessions was conducted without his consent.
He said afterwards, “This is the worst incident that has happened to me in the U.K. even though I experienced a lot of racism when I worked here in the 1980s. I was treated like an animal. Not even an apology. Just physical intimidation, threats and humiliation.”
He alleges that the staff laughed at him as he was taken to the back room. When he was being detained the manager of the store refused to give him the name of the till supervisor.
Kenneth Jeyaretnam (centre) helping some homeless and stateless people in Singapore. Picture: Twitter
According to his wife, recorded the check made by M&S staff on the items he had in his possession on his camera phone and this confirmed that he had paid for everything and that the manager acknowledged an error had been made.
She says Mr Jeyaretnam later suffered a panic attack on his return.
A spokesperson for M&S said, “Everyone is welcome at M&S and we do not tolerate discrimination of any kind in our stores. We have apologised to Mr Jeyaretnam and are speaking to him directly so we can investigate with the store what has happened.”
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September 27, 2022
