"Store Closed Less Than 10 Minutes... Someone Vandalized the Door Lock with Spit"

A story has been shared about a self-employed person who felt uncomfortable after their store's door lock was targeted with 'phlegm terrorism.'

Photo for article understanding purposes only, unrelated to the article content [Asia Economy archive photo]

On the 2nd, a post titled 'Phlegm on the Door Lock' was uploaded on an online community. The author, Mr. A, who identified himself as a self-employed person running a salad cafe, began, "I had to go back to the store 10 minutes after leaving work, and when I went, there was something sticky on the door lock. Upon closer inspection, it was phlegm."

Mr. A explained the situation, saying, "Phlegm was smeared on the part of the door lock that you touch," and added, "It wasn't on the door itself, but exactly on the part of the door lock that you touch, it was covered in it." He continued, "I haven't done anything recently to make someone hold a grudge, nor have I fought with anyone, so it's scary," and appealed, "The closed-circuit television (CCTV) only shows the inside of the store, so it's hard to know what happened outside. If any owners have experienced something like this, I would appreciate advice."

Netizens who read the story mostly reacted with shock, saying things like, "There are too many strange people in the world," "Even if you clean it well, it would still feel very uncomfortable," "I'm really curious about that person's face," "That's really disgusting," "It's not even a bar but a salad cafe, so it seems unlikely to have many grudges, which is strange," and "It's absurd." Netizen B, who said they had a similar experience, commented, "When I was running a store before, I had the exact same experience. I checked the CCTV installed near the door just in case, and it turned out to be the owner of the neighboring business who spat on it," and advised, "That person was old enough, but there are surprisingly many people with poor character. Just ignore it or report it to the police."

Meanwhile, such an incident can be punishable under the crime of property damage. Property damage occurs when a person, with the awareness of impairing the entire or part of the utility of another's property, exercises physical force on all or part of the object, thereby destroying or diminishing its original utility. It does not require permanence and can be temporary, and it is not necessary to damage important parts; even minor damage that can be easily repaired is included.