A woman had to fork out S$8,000 on medical fees after she had to spend Christmas Eve in a hospital after suffering from food poisoning.

The reason? Eating S$116 worth of raw marinated seafood.

Refrigerator broke down

Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, a woman surnamed Wu, 29, said she had ordered S$172 worth of raw marinated seafood on Dec. 23, 2023, from an online store to share with her friends.

The spread included raw marinated crabs, prawns, scallops and salmon sashimi.

However, prior to the delivery, the seller claimed that the refrigerator where the salmon sashimi was stored was malfunctioning.

She said he offered to cancel the sashimi order and refunded S$56.

Started vomiting and having diarrhoea

Wu and four of her friends feasted on the rest of the seafood that night.

The next morning, Wu started vomiting uncontrollably and had diarrhoea.

The symptoms didn't stop until the evening, and she ended up in a hospital.

She later learned that her female friend had suffered from diarrhoea, but her three male friends were fine.

Was hospitalised for two days

Wu said she stayed in the hospital for two days, where doctors detected a bacteria called Vibrio in her faeces.

According to the Singapore Food Agency's website, different species of Vibrio can be found in contaminated seawater, seafood and shellfish.

She recovered soon after but was hit with medical bills totalling up to S$8,000.

After her discharge from the hospital, she said she continued to feel bloating and discomfort.

Wu tried to ask the seller to suspend sales or caution customers but was offered a refund four days later.

Other customers did not have problems: seller

Wu said she was enticed by the seller's advertisement on social media. As she loved to eat raw marinated foods, she placed an order, which arrived at about 7pm that evening.

When Shin Min contacted the seafood seller, he replied that he had reached out to other customers whom he delivered to that day once he received the message from Wu.

The seller, surnamed Sun, 27, said that no other customers had issues with their order.

Sun said he had been operating the online store for over seven months and sold over 1,000 crabs.

He claimed that this was the first time he received such a complaint.

He said that he uses the freshest seafood and ingredients in his products. He claimed the crabs he sold were also cleaned with liquor to disinfect them during preparation.

Woman undeterred

Wu said she also had food poisoning two years ago after she ate sashimi at a restaurant.

However, she said she loved raw food so much that she had to eat it again this time.

She also claimed not to be deterred by the episode and would continue eating raw food in the future but will at least wait a few months.

Top photo via Shin Min Daily News