ALL the couple wanted was a price quotation but they ended up in a fight with two plumbers.

Mr Soh T S, 51, said the plumbers went to his house on Wednesday and fixed a clogged pipe without even asking for permission.

In the ensuing argument, he alleged, one of the men threatened them and nearly exposed his private parts to him and his wife.

Mr Soh, who is unemployed, said he had called a plumber after spotting a small ad in The Straits Times Classified on Wednesday.

'I just wanted to find out how much it would cost to fix the blockage in the drainage pipe in my toilet,' he said.

There was no company name, or HDB licence number listed but the ad claimed to be the 'cheapest in town'.

Mr Soh said: 'I called the handphone number and a Mr Lim said that the company would do a free inspection first.'

According to his wife, Mrs Irene Soh, it was a very different story when the two workers showed up at their four-room Pasir Ris flat at about 3pm.

'When they stepped through the door, they asked 'Where is the toilet?' in a fierce manner,' said Mrs Soh, who is in her 40s.

Mr Soh added: 'They split up and went to the two toilets. I was unable to inspect what they were doing as I was then busy with the delivery of my new sofa.

'About five minutes later, they came out of the toilets and said they were done. And they demanded $80 from me. I was shocked as they had just gone ahead and done the work without my permission.'

Still, Mr Soh was prepared to pay.

NO RECEIPT

But they refused to give him a receipt, saying it was not their job to do so.

At that point his wife got into a heated argument with one of the plumbers.

'One of them then threatened to show his private parts to me,' said Mrs Soh.

To her horror, the plumber, who appeared to be in his 30s, allegedly unzipped his pants and reached into his underwear.

'I remember his underwear was blue!' said Mr Soh.

The plumber stopped when Mr Soh threatened to kick him in the groin.

Then, said the couple, the other plumber threatened them with a long rod.

At that point, their 14-year-old daughter returned home and the plumbers left in a huff.

The daughter did not want to be named but said she was frightened for her parents' safety.

Mr Soh made a police report later that day.

'How can this happen, these guys are like road bullies with their unscrupulous tactics,' he said.

When The New Paper contacted the plumbing company, a Mr Lim answered but refused to reveal his full name or the name of the firm.

He was aware that a police report had been made but said it was 'all nonsense'.

He said his two part-time workers had done their job as they were supposed to and did no wrong in asking for payment.

'I never told Mr Soh that there would be a free inspection,' said Mr Lim.

'We have a number of orders every day and we can't spend the whole day giving free quotations.

'Anyway, it's the wife who first started throwing vulgarities at my workers.

'But they never exposed themselves or threatened to hit the couple. It's all nonsense.'

According to the Penal Code, any word or gesture intended to outrage the modesty of a woman can lead up to a year's jail and a fine.