Rat on food tray at Tangs Market leaves pregnant Singaporean ‘traumatised’

The older woman, whom we are calling madam Lim, said her daughter is currently on medication prescribed by her gynaecologist.

CNA has viewed screenshots of WhatsApp correspondence between Lim and a Tangs duty manager. They show that the department store offered the family a “wellness hamper” and a “S$200 (US$150) gift card”. Lim rejected both.

“I only want to be treated fairly,” said Lim. “They have to be responsible for all direct costs relating to this incident.”

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Recounting the incident, Lim said that her daughter was halfway through her meal when she felt “liquid dripping” on her hand that was holding a pair of chopsticks. The liquid also stained the cardigan that her daughter had on.

When her daughter looked up to locate the source of the drip, she saw the rat. After spotting the creature, she stood up and backed away from her seat. Seconds later, she heard a “loud bang” as the rat fell and landed on her food tray.

“She ran off screaming and running towards us, frantically saying she needed to wash her hands,” Lim said, adding that her daughter was worried about her unborn child.

Lim and her family then visited the emergency department at Gleneagles Hospital. The bill came up to S$1,152.06 (US$864).

On Monday, she followed that up with a gynaecologist consultation. She was prescribed antibiotics and probiotics because of the risks of contamination with rodents and the potential risks of leptospirosis.

Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that affects humans and animals, and can cause a wide range of symptoms. Complications include kidney damage and liver failure.

In a medical memo seen by CNA, the doctor affirmed the well-being of both the fetus and mother at the time of review on Monday.

On Saturday, the day of the incident, a Tangs duty manager offered the store’s apologies for what had happened. Later that evening, Tangs asked Lim for her home address where a “wellness hamper” could be sent.

In response, Lim said: “We don’t want the wellness hamper. We want to know how is Tangs going to resolve this matter.”

In subsequent messages, Tangs also offered a gift card and requested the receipts of the hospital bill.

“To show our sincere apology, we will like to pass you a S$200 Tangs gift card for the inconveniences caused by the incident,” said the company’s duty manager via WhatsApp on Monday. “For the medical bills related to the incident, send us the receipts for our follow-up.”

It was unclear if this constituted an offer by Tangs to pay the medical bills.

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The offer of a gift card did not go down well with Lim.

“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 replied.

“Tangs management is telling us we have to pay for their failure to maintain proper food safety in a food court. This is unfair to any layman. We are totally appalled.”

On Tuesday, Lim said: “Tangs cannot expect us … to come out of my own pocket for the medical fee and other indirect costs.”

She noted that costs were incurred for parking charges and the need to utilise annual leave to accompany her daughter to the hospital.

“The principle of this is wrong,” she said.

In a statement issued on Wednesday afternoon, Tangs confirmed the sighting of the rat on the food tray at around 2.55pm (local time) on Saturday at the Tangs Market food court.

The company said “affected customers who were seated in the vicinity of the incident were attended to” but made no further mention of any interaction with Lim and her family.

Queries by CNA to Tangs about its correspondence with Lim went unanswered.

The company added in its statement that the incident was “regrettable and unacceptable” and announced a one-day closure of the food court for cleaning and sanitisation works.