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A woman, who was in the midst of consuming her Korean army stew meal in Clementi Mall at around 3pm, on Friday, May 26, was stopped in her tracks as she noticed something unusual.

The customer, 30, surnamed Li, according to Shin Min Daily News, said she was eating at Ha-Jun Korean on the fourth floor of the mall when she saw something in the dish that looked like "hair".

She pried the beef slices in her one-person serving meal open and found a cockroach inside.

She had already eaten the food by then.

Shin Min reported that the woman said: "I almost ate it. After I found out it was a cockroach, I lost my appetite and felt so disgusted. When I complained to the staff, they said they would refund me S$10."

The woman's complaint was first put up on Xiaohongshu.

Staff apparently acted indifferent

However, Li claimed that the staff's attitude showed they were seemingly indifferent to her plight and they did not apologise immediately.

She then spoke to the manager, who apparently told her that if she felt unwell, she could go to the doctor and the eatery would foot the medical bill.

But when she asked for a formal guarantee in writing that the eatery will cover her medical expenses, she was apparently told that they could not provide her with one.

The manager did say that the shop will prepare a new meal for her, according to Shin Min, but Li said she did not dare to eat it by then.

She added: "I have visited a few times before, and I think the price is quite affordable, but I did not expect this to happen. Although the manager said they have cleaned and removed the pests, I am still worried about food safety."

Spoke to manager

A Shin Min reporter visited the shop on Saturday and spoke to the manager who conceded that the eatery was negligent, which resulted in the customer being served a cockroach.

But the eatery had refunded the customer on the spot and offered a new meal, but was rejected, the manager added.

It was also explained that the customer was at liberty to go to the doctor regardless of how she felt, and that the eatery was obliged to pick up the tab for the visit to the doctor.

Shin Min reported that the only request that the eatery could not accede to was the extending of a written agreement to the woman to state that the shop will bear the cost of the medical bill, as any interaction with the customer could only be conducted via WhatsApp.

The manager said the customer spoke to her colleague and left.

The store was cleaned before it opens for business and after it is closed, and pests are regularly removed, it was also reported.

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