By Melvin Singh and Cheryl Lim

TAKE an ex-wife in her 60s with a temper. Pour in some heated words with her former husband, also in his 60s.

Throw a younger girlfriend into the mix.

And you get all the ingredients of an explosive fight. It happened on Monday at a provision shop at Block 150, Toa Payoh Lorong 1.

The exchange was so heated that police were called in and had to restrain the ex-wife, a grandmother of three.

Pictures published in Shin Min Daily News showed five police officers subduing her before slapping on handcuffs andleading her away.

A police spokesman explained that a woman officer had at first tried to restrain the woman. But she put up a violent struggle.

While yelling at the officers, the woman rolled around on the floor, witnesses told The New Paper.

The other police officers then intervened.

Police said they were alerted to the fracas after receiving a call asking for assistance.

A police spokesman said: "A woman was subsequently arrested. Police investigations are ongoing."

The drama started when the two women confronted each other.

The ex-wife went to the provision shop demanding to see her ex-husband at about 9.15am.

The ex-husband was in the shop with their daughter, a shop assistant and the girlfriend, who looks to be in her 30s.

The New Paper approached the ex-husband and his girlfriend yesterday but they refused to be interviewed.

Scene 1: Ex-wife turns up at Toa Payoh minimart and throws things around. Scene 2: She storms into minimart later and continues to argue with ex-hubby. Scene 3: Police arrive as the girlfriend (pictured) keeps her distance from the fracas.

Jump to lover's defence

But neighbours who saw the incident told us that the ex-wife was nagging her ex-husband, the owner of Boon Seng Hup Kee minimart, when his girlfriend intervened.

The girlfriend, jumping to her lover's defence, demanded to know why the ex-wife was "talking to my husband".

Piqued, the ex-wife picked up some items at the store, including canned drinks, and threw them out of the store.

The ex-wife then yelled at the girlfriend: "I bore him three children, and we even have three grandchildren.

"What right do you have to call him your husband? Only a woman like you would do such a thing."

She then got into a heated row with her ex-husband.

A regular at the minimart, who gave her name only as Madam Catherine, 68, said: "It was really over a small matter but the ex-wife does have some issues."

The couple got into a tussle. The ex-wife fell. A plastic chair was thrown and landed near her.

She stayed on the ground shouting for help.

By that time, a crowd had gathered but nobody stepped forward to help.

Owners of neighbouring shops said she had caused trouble there before.

A shop owner, who declined to be named, said the ex-husband is also known to have a fiery temper.

He claimed that he saw the ex-husband push his ex-wife to the ground outside the shop during the fight.

But the ex-wife got up and stormed back into the minimart.

And there was another heated exchange of words.

Another plastic chair was thrown, and this time, a witness said it hit the ex-wife, who complained loudly that she was being abused.

Scene 4: Ex-wife yells and struggles with woman police officer before other officers are called in to subdue and handcuff her.

The police arrived at 9.50am.

Witnesses said that even with the police officers present, the ex-wife didn't back down.

When she was advised to leave, she yelled: "Why should I leave? My family members are inside.

"I only wanted to tell them that my daughter has escaped from the hospital and she still needs to go through her treatment."

The ex-wife said their 20-something daughter - who was in the minimart during the fight - has mental health issues, said witnesses.

When The New Paper visited the minimart yesterday evening, a resident, who declined to be named, said: "Minimart, so must have mini-drama."

He said this is not the first time the neighbourhood has been in the news.

On Sept 20, a decomposed body was found in the same block where the minimart is located.

The body of a 49-year-old woman, who had lived alone, was found in a ninth-storey unit after neighbours alerted police to a stench which had been lingering for days.

Neighbouring shop owners said the minimart owner and his girlfriend have been the talk of the neighbourhood lately.

They said the girlfriend had recently been turning up regularly at the shop.

The minimart owner told residents they have plans to get married and he was recently seen leaving his shop wearing a suit with his girlfriend, who was in a gown, a neighbouring shop owner said.

He closed his minimart that day.

The New Paper understands that the ex-wife is at the Institute of Mental Health following her arrest.

This article was first published in The New Paper.