A man has claimed that he lao sai after eating the curry chicken cutlet rice from Encik Tan, a popular dining establishment. He alleged that he vomited twice and suspected that it caused him to suffer from food poisoning.
However, after an internal investigation by the restaurant, did not find any lapses in the food preparation process, nor did they receive other such feedback of food poisoning. The restaurant suspected that the man could have suffered from food poisoning after eating other food by mistake.
The Singapore Food Agency has since been involved in the investigation of the matter.
According to Zaobao, the incident took place on November 22 at the Encik Tan outlet in Yew Tee.
The man, Ng Jie Kang, a 22-year-old food delivery rider, told Lianhe Zaobao in an interview that after eating a piece of cake early in the morning that day, he started to on his delivery. He only had a few sips of water in the middle of his job. At about 1.30pm, he ordered two chicken cutlet rice sets from the Encik Tan outlet at Yew Tee Point and consumed them at home as he was feeling hungry.
He then went to take a nap after finishing his meal.
Ng shared that he woke up with an upset stomach but he thought nothing of it and went to continue with his job as a GrabFood delivery rider.
However, at about 4pm that day, he had a splitting headache and felt very unwell.
His condition got worst in the evening and he allegedly vomited twice at Lot One Shoppers’ Mall At night when he was there to pick up an order.
Showed Encik Tan’s manager his vomit as proof
Afterwards, when he started to feel a bit better, he returned to the Encik Tan outlet to confront the manager. He even showed him a picture of his vomit. However, the manager of the outlet told Ng that she will “take note” of the situation and suggested that it could be the result of other food that Ng had consumed.
Ng said that in addition to eating a cake in the morning, he only ate Encik Tan’s curry chicken cutlet rice, and hence it is not possible that his discomfort was caused by eating other food.
He then went to see a doctor at his own expense, who confirmed he had food poisoning and gave him three days of sick leave. “My work the next day got delayed because I was feeling unwell, and it even affected my performance for the whole month. The merchant did not even compensate me, which made me very disappointed,” Ng added.
Singapore Food Agency investigating incident
In response to Lianhe Zaobao’s enquiry, a spokesman for Encik Tan confirmed that the restaurant had received the complaint, but the spokesman said that according to the information on the Singapore Food Agency’s website, the bacteria that cause food poisoning usually have different incubation periods, and some bacteria do not develop symptoms until a week after ingesting food.
Furthermore, food poisoning incidents are usually not a single isolated incident, but Encik Tan has not received any other complaints of food poisoning after the 12th.
In addition, the restaurant has also conducted a thorough internal investigation but did not find any lapses in the food preparation process. The restaurant added that it will continue to maintain the sanitation standards and operating procedures of each store.
The Singapore Food Agency confirmed that it is investigating the matter.
The spokesman from Singapore Food Agency said that food safety is a shared responsibility and that while the authorities formulate and enforce regulatory measures, catering operators should also abide by food hygiene and meal preparation rules. The authorities will strictly enforce the law and deal with those who violate the regulations.
Should any member of the public suspect that any food business may be violating regulations, the member of the public can report the matter through the Singapore Food Agency’s website at www.sfa.gov.sg/feedback.
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