Last week, Singaporeans let out a collective ‘eww’ when they came across pictures of a rat which appeared unconscious on a customer’s tray at Tangs Market food court.
More information has come to light regarding the incident.
Turns out, the rat had reportedly fallen on a pregnant lady’s food tray. Shortly before the incident, “liquid” also dripped from the ceiling, leaving brown stains on the victim’s cardigan.
Source: Singapore Laughs on Facebook
Worried about her unborn child, the victim sought emergency medical attention at Gleneagles Hospital. She was subsequently referred to a gynaecologist, who prescribed her antibiotics and probiotics.
Speaking to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), Mdm Lim — the victim’s mother — said the incident happened last Saturday (25 Nov) when the family was at the food court for dinner.
The victim, who was 16 weeks pregnant at the time, was halfway through her meal when she felt “liquid” dripping on her hand that was holding a pair of chopsticks.
The mysterious liquid also left a brown stain on the 27-year-old’s white cardigan.
As she looked up to see the source of the mysterious liquid, the victim spotted the rat and subsequently backed away from her seat.
Moments later, the rodent fell with a “loud bang” and landed on the food tray that she was eating from.
After the horrific scene unfolded before her eyes, the victim reportedly “ran off screaming and running” towards Mdm Lim, insisting she needed to wash her hands.
CNA reported that the victim and her family later visited the emergency department at Gleneagles Hospital, where they racked up a hospital bill of S$1,152.06.
The victim subsequently visited a gynaecologist and was prescribed antibiotics and probiotics given the potential risks of contamination with rodents and leptospirosis.
Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease transmitted from animals like rodents through their urine or reproductive fluids. Infected patients may experience mild symptoms similar to flu to more severe ones like internal bleeding and organ damage.
Thankfully, the doctor “affirmed the well-being” of the mother and her unborn child in a medical memo seen by CNA.
Tangs reportedly asked Mdm Lim for her home address and offered to send a “wellness hamper”.
Mdm Lim, however, was not pleased with the move,
We don’t want the wellness hamper. We want to know how is Tangs going to resolve this matter.
The department store later offered a S$200 gift card and asked Mdm Lim to send receipts for the medical bills related to the incident.
Instead of quelling Mdm Lim’s anger, the new offer seemingly angered her further.
“For Tangs management to dismiss the incident with a $200 voucher to cover our out of pocket [expenses] and leave days is an insult to us,” she said.
In response to MS News’ queries, a Tangs spokesperson said affected customers seated near the vicinity of the incident were “attended to”.
Tangs’ cleaning and pest control vendors subsequently carried out three rounds of cleaning and sanitisation works at the food court.
Moving forward, Tangs will also be doubling the frequency of their pest control checks and servicing.
In a Facebook post on 28 Nov, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said they will be taking enforcement actions against the five food shops with hygiene lapses.
NEA will also be taking enforcement action against the building management for rat infestation.
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Featured image adapted from Singapore Laughs on Facebook and Google Maps.
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