S'pore man allegedly finds 'fat' cockroach in Serangoon stall's char kway teow, stall denies incident, lodges police report

A diner asked for S$5,000 in compensation from a restaurant in Serangoon after he allegedly found a cockroach in a plate of noodles.

The incident was recounted by the diner in a post on Threads dated Sep. 17, in which he included a picture of what appeared to be a full cockroach tucked between the noodle strands.

It occurred at Al-Majlis restaurant in Serangoon, according to the post.

However, the restaurant later refuted the allegations, stating that it would pursue legal action against defamation.

The allegations

In the comments section of the post, the complainant posted a video captioned "Listen to the full story."

It appeared to describe the incident through a rap format, titled "Roach Kway Teow".

A line said: "Something fat sitting inside my food, six little legs spoil my whole mood."

The rap's lyrics added that the complainant rejected the free meal as he had lost his appetite.

"Then suddenly story change very fast. They say maybe...I planted it. Wah lau eh."

Family recounts alleged incident

In response to Mothership's queries, the original Threads poster, who is the diner's niece, said her uncle rejected the free replacement meal as he did not consider the gesture adequate in addressing the incident.

The man also purportedly emailed the restaurant's management the same afternoon to seek an amicable resolution, but received no response.

He then filed a report to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA).

Compensation

Later, the diner contacted the restaurant via WhatsApp to speak to its boss, but the meeting was repeatedly delayed, his niece said.

According to her, staff members claimed that their boss was in hospital in one instance, and sleeping in another.

When they finally met two weeks later, the diner was apparently asked how much he was seeking in compensation, to which he responded with S$5,000.

"He only gave this number after being asked. There was no mention or accusation during the meeting that he had planted the cockroach," his niece claimed.

However, the diner was allegedly ghosted after making his request.

He also discovered that the meeting had been recorded without his knowledge, after which he claimed allegations of him planting the cockroach emerged.

When the family asked for evidence of this, they were allegedly told that the relevant footage of that day had been overwritten.

The diner's niece told Mothership that her family was not, in any way, seeking to taint the restaurant's reputation, nor did it hold any personal vendetta against them.

"Our family has been regular customers, including my own grandmother.

Our intention is not to harm anyone or their business; we are simply seeking a fair and reasonable resolution to what occurred."

Restaurant denied allegations

Al-Majlis responded to the accusations in the Thread's comments, denying that their kitchen contained pests.

The diner's claim was made long after the alleged discovery and "coincided with a financial demand", it said.

"Strict third-party pest control audits confirm our kitchen is entirely pest-free," the restaurant added in its reply.

It stated that while it welcomes genuine feedback, it would not tolerate bad-faith allegations.

It added that the matter is now with its legal team, and it reserves its rights to pursue legal actions against false or defamatory statements.

A post by another Threads user claiming to be a friend of the restaurant's owner said the diner had ordered the food on Aug. 22, but did not complain about the cockroach at the time.

The alleged incident and S$5,000 claim was only raised on Sep. 5, nearly two weeks later, the poster said.

The restaurant's director had told Shin Min in a Sep. 21 report that they had suspected they were being framed.

He told the paper that they found the customers' behaviours unusual and decided to refuse the request. He also said that if the cockroach was fried, it would not look "intact".

In response to Mothership's queries, SFA said it has inspected the restaurant and did not detect any pest or food safety lapses.

Nonetheless, the food operator was reminded to ensure the premises are clean and well-maintained and that food handlers adhere to good food safety practices.

When contacted by Mothership, the stall said that they had lodged a police report regarding the matter.

"As the matter has been referred to the authorities, we do not wish to comment further or speculate on the circumstances at this stage. We would prefer to let the appropriate process take its course."