A woman ended up experiencing nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea the day after she found a used tissue in her sugarcane juice drink at Balestier Market Hawker Centre.
In response to Mothership's queries, a representative for the hawker centre's management said that it is "highly unlikely" that the drink will be served with the tissue paper, and that it will investigate the incident.
Thought tissue was a slice of lemon at first
Speaking to Mothership, her husband, surnamed Yong, said his wife's diagnosis of acute gastroenteritis on Mar. 27 was due to the tissue paper.
The incident occurred during the family's lunch at the hawker centre at about 2pm on Mar. 26.
Yong added that he had bought drinks for himself and his son, along with sugarcane juice for his wife from the same stall.
While sipping her drink, his wife discovered something at the bottom of the cup, under the ice.
"She asked me if I had bought the sugarcane juice with lemon and I told her that I did not do so," he added.
His wife then proceeded to use a chopstick to fish out the item.
"To our horror, it turned out to be a tissue paper," he claimed.
Photo courtesy of Yong.
Photo courtesy of Yong.
Made a police report
Following the discovery, Yong said his family met with the manager of the hawker centre, whose initial response was to replace the drink.
Yong then alleged that they were met by the hawker centre's human resource manager, when they repeatedly asked to meet with the boss instead.
Yong added that his family then filed a police report over the matter.
He said they negotiated with the hawker centre's management about his wife's medical treatment:
"It was initially agreed that medical checkup and tests will be paid (for) by their management, thereafter any subsequent medical consultations/tests and treatments if needed , (will also) be borne by them. To be impartial, we would prefer an independent clinic (instead of their company doctor) for the medical consultation.
However, the letter of negotiation was drafted several times. It practically differed from the terms during the verbal discussions that were made to us."
Allegedly told by the management not to share the incident on social media
Yong added that all parties eventually agreed to go to the Raffles Medical Clinic at NEX shopping mall at about 7.30pm.
Yong then alleged that following the consultation at the clinic, the hawker centre's management supposedly told his family that they will pay for the check-up on the condition that the family would consider the matter closed and would not share about it on social media.
Yong criticised the move as insincere and added that the hawker centre appeared to be "merely thinking about their reputation."
The family therefore decided to pay for the cost of the consultation themselves.
Photo courtesy of Yong.
Wife began experiencing symptoms the next day
Yong said he also filed a report with the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) on Mar. 27 about the incident.
His wife also began to experience nausea, abdominal pain, and vomiting on Mar. 27.
They made another visit to a Raffles Medical Clinic located at Bishan, where his wife was diagnosed with acute gastroenteritis.
Photo courtesy of Yong.
Yong added that as of Mar. 29, his wife is slowly recovering from this "traumatic experience".
Hawker centre: Wife claimed tissue paper could give her HIV and syphilis
In response to Mothership's queries, a representative of the hawker centre's management confirmed that Yong's wife met with the food court manager of Balestier Market Hawker Centre about 20 minutes after she had purchased her drink.
The hawker centre representative claimed that during this meeting, Yong's wife had allegedly raised concerns about contracting various diseases from the tissue paper in her drink.
In addition, Yong's wife had supposedly further alleged that some of these diseases could cause her to develop terminal illness a few years later, which the hawker centre's management found "unreasonable and unacceptable".
She also shared a memorandum from the consultation on Mar. 26, in which the doctor said that the risk of contracting the "very common" herpes simplex virus (HSV) Type 1 from exposure to contaminated saliva was "theoretical", and even if Yong's wife ultimately tested positive for it, there would be no way to link it to this incident.
Screenshot via Balestier Market Hawker Centre representative
Investigation into her incident will be conducted
The hawker centre representative described the cleaning process of its cups as such:
- All cups will first be washed and emptied of any leftovers by hand,
- The cups will then be placed in a dishwater in which they are washed by hot water and detergent to clean off any remaining dirt,
- Afterwards, the washed cups are placed upside down and delivered to the drinks stall, ready for customers.
She added, "Thus it is highly unlikely that (the) drink will be served with tissue paper in it."
However, the hawker centre would conduct an investigation into the incident, she said.
Hawker centre's offer to bear the consultation fee and hospitalisation bill rejected
The hawker centre representative also claimed that the hawker centre's management had proposed, out of goodwill, to bring her to a General Practitioner (GP) to address her concern.
She further alleged that the family had initially rejected the management's proposal to cover the consultation fee and any hospitalisation bill that should arise in the next 48 hours, by calling the police.
When the authorities arrived at 3.50pm, according to her, they advised both parties to settle among themselves.
Responding to Mothership's query, the police said:
"On Mar. 26, 2023, at 3.18pm, the police received a call for assistance along Balestier Road. The parties were advised accordingly. No further police assistance was required."
Asked the family not to go public about the incident until investigation is complete
The hawker centre's representative also clarified that she had personally asked the family not to publicise the incident on social media until the management had completed its investigation.
She said if the family did so, this could create the impression that the management was at fault when the cause had yet to be properly identified.
She also said she told the family that if they publicise the incident, the management might have to reconsider their offer to pay for subsequent consultation or hospitalisation fees.
However, the representative also noted that she could have created the wrong impression as her command of English is not very good.
She added that she called Yong's wife the day after the incident in order to follow up on her condition.
However, these calls were not answered.
In response to Mothership's queries, SFA replied, "The SFA is investigating. Members of the public who come across such incidents should report to SFA via the online feedback form."
Top photos courtesy of Yong