I am sure many Singaporeans will agree with Mr Pavithran Vidyadharan that the "choping" of seats should not be allowed to carry on (Time to make choping an offence; Aug 23).

But, sadly, it is a practice that is also accepted by many Singaporeans - they simply move on to another table when they see that a seat or table has been choped.

Instead of ending up with a situation where a flood of choping offences is being reported, I urge fellow Singaporeans who do not condone this practice to ignore the umbrellas, tissue packets and other items used for choping, and to go ahead and sit at the table that they find available.

When the owners of the items return and demand their "reserved" table, politely ask them if they would like the matter to be reported to the authorities.

This way, I am sure that there will not be a flood of cases, as the onus is on the inconsiderate "choper" to escalate the matter.

There should be signs put up by the authorities as well, so that diners can call a hotline to report the matter if they cannot resolve it.

Inderjit Kaur