Woman at Yishun restaurant finds 2.5cm fishing hook while eating fried fish, investigations ongoing

When a woman having dinner at a zi char restaurant in Yishun felt a piercing pain in her mouth, she initially thought it was a bone of the fish she was eating.

She was startled when she spat it out and saw it was a 2.5cm-long fishing hook.

"It could have been deadly if swallowed!" she cried out, according to Shin Min Daily News.

Complained immediately

The incident took place around 8 pm on Nov. 22, when the woman, in her 40s, was having dinner with her colleague, a 66-year-old man surnamed Yang (transliterated), at Heng Hua Restaurant.

Yang told Shin Min that the pair had ordered a set meal for two, and one of the dishes was fried fish.

Yang said he was puzzled why something so big and obvious could go unnoticed by the restaurant when they prepared the dish.

"If accidentally swallowed, it could have caused serious harm, even a fatal one," he added.

The pair immediately took a photo of the hook and called an employee over.

The staff apologised on the spot and offered to bring them a new dish as a replacement, but the two colleagues said no.

They had been too hungry and did not want to wait any longer, Yang explained.

Although the mood had been affected, they continued to finish their meal, albeit reluctantly.

Waived bill

To compensate the pair, the restaurant waived their entire dinner bill.

Upon hearing that the woman wanted to get a check-up at the doctor, the restaurant manager apologised again and offered to pay for the doctor's fees.

The woman did see a doctor two days after the incident, after feeling some swelling around the area where she had bitten into the fishing hook.

Fortunately, there were no signs of infection.

Although the restaurant took responsibility for what happened, Yang felt the incident was too serious, and he decided to report it to the authorities.

He hoped to warn both businesses and diners to be more careful, he said.

Under investigation

Heng Hua confirmed to Shin Min that they had covered the woman's clinic fees, and added that they would step up their management.

In response to Mothership's queries, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said it is investigating the incident.

Speaking to Stomp, an employee of the restaurant expressed confusion about how the hook had gotten on the plate.

"From preparing the dish to serving it, the process takes six to seven people, so there is no way nobody saw the hook," they said.

"The fish is also thin. If the hook was really inside, the flesh would have been torn. However, the fish still looks intact in the photo."

The boss of Heng Hua, surnamed Wang, shared that the restaurant is cooperating with the investigations and has shared its fish handling procedures with the SFA.

Wang acknowledged that incidents like this can impact diners' trust in the restaurant, and emphasised that the team values every diner's trust.

"We deeply regret the concern this incident has caused our diners," she said.

Top images from Shin Min Daily News and C S/Google Maps