Drinking on MRT

I just saw this report on the news and it seemed like a relevant topic for me to comment on. According to report, we are not allowed to drink anything – not even take a sip of plain water from a bottled source to quench our thirst/even babies are not allowed to be fed milk from a milk bottle in an MRT. Apparently, offenders will be fined.

Somehow, I find that such laws are practically inhumane and it appears to be depriving us of our human rights. This can be argued in the logic that “If one is about to get knocked down by a car, what would be his instant reaction? Of course it would be to run and preserve their life. So…if one is extremely thirsty and needs a sip of water to quench that dying thirst of his, should he be deprived of that sip just because he is on an MRT that may well soothe him for the entire trip?” A new-born baby is unable to express himself verbally or tolerate his hunger/thirst, hence, should a parent of the baby be fined for feeding the baby milk on an MRT? Apparently, they will be fined but why are the terms so harsh and inflexible? Is it logical for one to deprive another of quenching their thirst simply because one is travelling on an MRT? One’s ability to sustain such feelings is limited and it wouldn’t be pleasant if one has to wait till he leaves the station before he can drink something.

I wouldn’t mind if sweet drinks were prohibited as there is a reason behind that – to keep the MRT clean of pests. BUT why is plain water not allowed either? I don’t see a reason behind prohibiting this. Many times I have travelled on an MRT and had the urge to take just a sip of water but I did not dare to. My friend was once confronted in an MRT just because he was about to drink water. Hence, I had to tolerate this uncomfortably thirsty sensation until I emerged from my station. I really feel that this law against drinking even plain water in an MRT should be abolished as it is not right to defy one of his means to quench his thirst at any location.