A woman has taken to social media to share what she described as a “horrific” experience after allegedly discovering a baby cockroach at the bottom of a cup of soybean milk purchased from Alley Wei at Tampines Mall.
In a lengthy Facebook post published on July 30, Riley Rhonda Tay claimed the incident took place on July 20 at around 2.40pm after she and her mother bought three cups of soybean milk from the restaurant, located at Basement 1 of Tampines Mall.
According to Tay, the drinks were consumed after the family arrived at a nearby traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinic.
She alleged that after her parents had finished their drinks and she was about to finish hers, she removed the lid and noticed what appeared to be a baby cockroach at the bottom of the cup.
Tay claimed the discovery caused her and her parents to vomit repeatedly and left them distressed, adding that they worried about whether they had unknowingly consumed contaminated drinks.
Customer says refund and replacement were offered
Tay said the family returned to the restaurant at around 5.50pm on the same day to raise the matter with staff.
According to her account, a cashier apologised and offered a refund along with a replacement soybean milk.
She claimed she rejected the offer as she believed the soybean milk could have been contaminated.
Tay further alleged that a kitchen staff member repeatedly said the restaurant could only offer a refund and another soybean milk, before allegedly remarking in Mandarin, “不然你想怎样” (“Otherwise, what do you want?”).
She also claimed she requested to speak to a supervisor before later communicating with a management executive, whom she accused of failing to follow through on what she described as a promised public apology.
Tay said she was not seeking monetary compensation, but instead wanted the restaurant to issue an official public apology and explain how the incident would be addressed.
Raises food safety concerns
In her Facebook post, Tay questioned why the alleged source of contamination was not immediately removed from sale and called on the restaurant to provide evidence of when the soybean milk was withdrawn.
She also tagged the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and CapitaLand, asking what action would be taken following the alleged incident and what rights consumers have if they consume contaminated food.
Tay further encouraged customers who had patronised the restaurant on July 20 to seek refunds if they believed they may have been affected.
The incident has since sparked debate online.
While many commenters expressed sympathy over the alleged discovery of a cockroach in a drink and agreed that food safety should be taken seriously, others felt the restaurant’s offer of a refund and apology was an appropriate first step.
Some also suggested that the matter should have been escalated to the relevant authorities while allowing investigations to take place.