A hotpot meal is supposed to be an enjoyable experience, but a Thai woman at a Bugis restaurant walked away with permanent scars instead.
In April 2015, Najai Benchawan went to eat at a restaurant on Beach Road.
However, disaster struck when the gas cartridge on a neighbouring table exploded, leaving her with severe injuries.
The court ultimately awarded her S$110,489.38 in damages, more than double Ms Najai’s original claim amount.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), Ms Najai came to Singapore from Thailand in 2015. She was 29 years old then.
She arrived on a short-term work permit as a performance artist for the entertainment company Douhan Omesia.
At 4am on 4 Apr 2015, Ms Najai met a friend for supper at Chong Qing (Origin) Steamboat, located along Beach Road in Bugis.
Source: Google Maps
Near the end of their meal, the gas cartridge of a portable stove on an adjacent table exploded.
The blast sent hot soup flying onto Ms Najai, giving her first- and second-degree burns across her face, hands, back, and legs.
Source: Lianhe Wanbao
She doused herself with cold water and was later rushed to the hospital.
Four other women also sustained injuries in the incident.
Although she was discharged after 10 days, Ms Najai had to return to the hospital over the next six months for further surgery and therapy.
She developed permanent and painful keloids — thick raised scars — on her shoulders and wrists.
The scalding soup also damaged her eyes, and it took at least a month for her to fully recover her eyesight.
Source: Lianhe Wanbao
Ms Najai alleged in court that her scars stopped her from being able to work as a performance artist. As a result, she had to give up her job and return to Thailand.
Lianhe Wanbao reported back in 2015 that she was the sole breadwinner for her family and that her looks were vital for her job.
At the hospital, she collapsed after seeing her facial injuries in the mirror.
The victim also sued the steamboat restaurant, their insurer Liberty Insurance, and Swee Huat Engineering, which supplied the gas cartridge.
In 2020, the court found the restaurant liable for the explosion, according to The Straits Times (ST).
One of the waitresses inserted a wad of tissue into the stove’s switch compartment to stop it from tripping.
The switch turned out to be the safety lever, which is supposed to activate a mechanism that ejects the canister and shuts off the gas supply if pressure builds up inside the canister.
As a result, the tissue stopped the safety lever from activating, resulting in the blast.
Source: Lianhe Wanbao
A medical expert testified that Ms Najai’s scars were permanent.
Furthermore, a Bangkok doctor claimed that she required regular injections every month for the pain from those scars.
The medical treatments in Singapore alone racked up to around S$19,500.
Ms Najai sought S$55,000 in damages, a figure which the Deputy Registrar felt was undervalued.
She thus raised the claim to S$70,000.
Liberty Insurance, representing Chong Qing (Origin) Steamboat, argued that Ms Najai should receive only S$13,000 in damages.
The Deputy Registrar called this sum “outrageously low”.
He pointed out that the burns caused “serious and extensive” injuries and gave her highly visible and permanent scars.
As such, the court awarded her S$70,000 for pain and suffering, S$20,000 for loss of earning capacity, and S$20,489.38 for medical expenses in Singapore and Thailand.
This totalled S$110,489.38 in damages, substantially above her original claim.
Also read: Whampoa Hawker Gets S$16K Compensation After Man Threw Hot Porridge At Her
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Featured image adapted from K M on Google Maps and Lianhe Wanbao.
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