Slabs of pork seen on Bedok wet market ground, stall owner said they slid down by accident

Two large slabs of raw pork were photographed lying on the ground at Block 216 Bedok North Street 1 wet market.

The photos were shared on the SG Dirty Fella Facebook group on Oct. 2, along with a caption: "Thawing meat on the floor?!?!?! Buy at your own risk!"

The meat was resting in front of a large chest freezer.

The stall owner, surnamed Fang (transliteration), admitted to Shin Min Daily News that the meat was on the ground, but claimed that it had slid down accidentally from the top of the freezer.

"If the authorities want to fine me, I will accept it," he added.

Washed it the next morning

In the photos, the wet market appeared empty and was outside of operating hours.

Some commenters questioned the hygiene at the stall, with one saying that the stall needs to "use soap to wash the meat before cooking".

The 64-year-old stall owner repeatedly emphasised that he did not place the pork on the ground intentionally, and that he usually kept raw meat inside the freezer.

"That day, an employee placed the pork on top of the freezer, and somehow it fell on the ground," he said. "When I saw it the next morning, I rushed to wash it clean with water. It was really not intentional."

He had initially thought of it as a small matter, and did not expect it to be photographed and posted online.

He added: "These few days, customers have been asking about it, and I had to explain what happened to each of them."

He added that he would be more careful in the future to prevent such incidents from happening again.

Reactions from the public

The incident drew a mixed response from patrons.

Two women separately told Shin Min that they would be all right with it as long as the ground where the meat had fallen was not too dirty.

One felt that it would be a waste if the pork was thrown away.

"I would have to cook the meat at home anyway, so I don't really mind," the other woman said.

However, a third woman objected to it, pointing out that the ground is likely to have germs that cannot be completely removed even after the meat is washed.

"It's best to cut away the part of the pork that touched the ground directly, so that everyone can eat it with a peace of mind," she said.