It started when an elderly woman asked a male passenger to remove his plastic bags of food from a vacant seat so she could sit on it.

But the elderly man refused and launched into an angry tirade, at one point even asking her to 'go and die'.

His rant created such a ruckus that the bus came to a stop for 10 minutes, when the bus driver tried to intervene.

Undeterred, the angry old man challenged the bus driver to make a police report.

The sudden outburst by the man, who looked to be in his 60s, caught everyone in the packed bus by surprise, especially the elderly woman passenger.

Senior bus captain Adam Tan, 46, who was driving the bus, said: 'In my 33 years of driving buses, I have never met such an unreasonable and inconsiderate passenger.

'I didn't expect him to be so unkind since he himself is a senior citizen and the woman who wanted to sit down is also an elderly person.'

The incident, which happened on a Monday afternoon two weeks ago , so incensed another passenger, Madam Sandy Nar, 46, that she took a picture of the man and sent it to The New Paper on Sunday.

Very stubborn

Madam Nar said: 'The old man was really badly behaved. When the driver tried to reason with him, he got even more upset and started to shout at him too.'

Mr Tan recalled: 'He was very stubborn and I could see the other passengers were getting annoyed.

'They were all staring at him angrily.'

This is not the first time those in the more mature age group have made the news with their inconsiderate behaviour.

In June last year, it was reported that a middle-aged woman shelled prawns on board an air-conditioned bus. And earlier this week, a senior citizen reportedly spat gum into a female MRT commuter's hair for giggles, a post on online interactive site Stomp showed.

Sounds ridiculously juvenile?

Yet these anti-social acts reported in the press were not the work of young pranksters but of people who are old enough to know better.

So, are the elderly lacking in the graces that are expected of them?

Yes, you might be old, but does this give you the right to get cranky in public?

Mr Wilson Hoo, 34, a hotel manager, told The New Paper on Sunday: 'Being elderly doesn't mean you have the prerogative to be rude.

'I would expect elderly folk to conduct themselves with more propriety simply because they are senior in terms of years and experience.'

Mr Hoo, who commutes by bus and the MRT, said it is almost on a daily basis that he sees elderly people occupying two seats, using one to put their belongings.

He observed that such elderly passengers often like to sit by the aisle and use the window seat to put their bags.

'It's a common sight. I frequently see such behaviour by some elderly passengers even when the bus is full,' he said.

Another public transport commuter, Ms Evelyn Boh, 32, an accounts manager, said that she has no sympathy for those who behave badly in public and bully other passengers.

'The elderly themselves should be aware of the needs of other old people.

'Such behaviour in public is socially unacceptable whether you are young or old,' she said.

'Senior citizens have a responsibility to behave graciously so as to set an example for younger people.'

Hard life

Ms Boh added: 'We have an aging population. If we excuse all loutish behaviour from the elderly, aren't we going to have a lot to put up with?

'It is more sensible to try to educate and remind the elderly to be considerate in public.'

However, another senior citizen, who often commutes via public transport, said that she would not be so quick to put the blame on such elderly folk.

Madam Rose Kwek, 65, a retiree, said: 'Some elderly people are senile and not in full control of their mental faculties. Some are also not educated in civic-mindedness.'

She pointed out that some of the elderly have had a hard life and their survival instincts lead them to behave in a self-centred and defensive manner because they feel vulnerable.

Madam Kwek added that some elderly people also dislike putting their belongings, especially packets of food, on the floor.

'They may not know how to explain this to others.'

A spokesman for the Singapore Kindness Movement advised that in asking other people, regardless of their age, to be considerate and do the right thing, one should always exercise courtesy.

The spokesman said: 'As we cannot legislate kindness or coerce someone to be considerate, the next best thing we can do is to demonstrate kindness ourselves whenever the opportunity arise.

'The choice is ours to make.'

Bus held up for 10 mins while old man argues

THE elderly woman was carrying a small luggage bag when she boarded bus service number 33 at about 1.15pm at Block 22, Old Airport Road. .

All the other seats on the bus were taken, except for one next to an elderly man.

But he had placed a shopping bag and two plastic bags - one containing food - on it.

Madam Nar, a cashier who said she was on her way to work, saw the incident unfold.

She said: 'The elderly woman asked the man politely to let her have the seat, but he refused.

'He replied in Hokkien that he needed the seat to place his food.

'The elderly woman told him nicely that he could put the plastic bags on the floor or hold them on his lap.'

But her plea fell on deaf ears.

Madam Nar recalled: 'The old man became upset and kept shouting, 'No, no, no'. He said he had to travel a long way by bus to go home, so he deserved to have the seat to put his food.

'He was unbelievably rude, but the elderly woman told him calmly that since he had paid the bus fare only for one person, he shouldn't be selfish and take up two seats.'

The old man continued to shout at the elderly woman - an exchange that lasted 15minutes.

'He yelled at her and said she should take a cab since she was carrying a piece of luggage. He even called her arrogant, and challenged her to call the police,' Madam Nar recounted.

Four other elderly passengers tried to speak to the old man and they asked him to be reasonable, but he just ignored them and looked out the window.

Exasperated, the female passenger went up to the bus driver to appeal for his help.The bus driver, Mr Adam Tan, stopped the bus along Mountbatten Road. Mr Tan said he had earlier heard some voices arguing at the back of the bus after the elderly woman boarded, but he was not sure what was happening as he had to keep his eyes on the road.

He had asked the elderly passenger to release the vacant seat, but 'he refused and said he was 81 years old and that his bags were heavy'.

Mr Tan said the man even insisted on showing him his identity card to prove his age, and challenged him to call the police.

'I told him there was no need to do that, but to release the seat,' Mr Tan said.

The elderly man refused to budge.

Mr Tan said he spent about 10 minutes trying to reason with the man, then decided to resume the bus journey after a young man at the back of the bus gave up his seat to the elderly woman.

Madam Nar said that the bus driver had remained calm and polite even though the old man kept shouting back at him.

She commented: 'I was very put off by the old man. The bus driver has a very tough job, and he still has to deal with such unreasonable passengers.

'That old man didn't even feel embarrassed for holding up all the other passengers because of his selfishness.'

But the commotion did not end there. Just before the elderly woman alighted, she again reminded the elderly man to be considerate as she walked by his seat.

'The man was furious and he shouted at her to 'go and die',' Madam Nar said.

'I was shocked. One would think that being an elderly person himself, he would be understanding about elderly folk needing a seat, but he was so incredibly selfish.'

Usually polite

Mr Tan said that passengers were usually polite and considerate.

'But there are some people who think only of themselves. I hope that they can change their attitudes and think about others instead,' he said.

An SBS Transit spokesman also appealed to commuters to show consideration.

'Every day, some 2.3 million passenger trips are taken on our buses. Practising graciousness and showing consideration for fellow commuters would certainly contribute towards a pleasant travelling experience for all,' the spokesman said.

[Top: TWO WEEKS AGO - An elderly woman asks an elderly man (L) to let her have the bus seat next to him, but he refuses to remove his three bags from it. He goes onto shout at her in a 15 min exchange;

C-R: THIS WEEK - A senior citizen spits gum into a woman's hair before boarding an MRT train. He and his friend then giggle when she tries to remove the gum.]

This article was first published in The New Paper on Dec 14, 2008.