Stall rejects Stomper's $16k compensation claim over plastic in dessert: 'Outrageous and malicious'
Two diners who found pieces of plastic in their dessert from Mei Heong Yuen Dessert want $16,000 in compensation.
Stomper Jes and her friend had previously ordered a durian snow ice dessert from the stall's outlet at The Clementi Mall on June 11, and discovered foreign matter in their food.
They said they had swallowed the plastic shards, thinking it was crushed ice.
In response to a Stomp query, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said it is looking into the matter.
The person in charge of the outlet, Ms Zhu, told Lianhe Zaobao that this was an isolated incident and shared her confusion about how the plastic shards got into the dessert.
She explained that the machine-crushed ice is very fine, so the plastic fragments could not have come from the machine or ice cubes.
According to her, the box containing the durian puree was not damaged.
Ms Zhu said: "We subsequently checked the durian puree in all our outlets and did not find any issues. The process of making the durian puree in the central kitchen does not involve any plastic."
She explained that the dessert chain had also contacted the supplier of the durian puree to understand the situation.
The staff also cooperated with the diners and filtered the durian puree, Ms Zhu noted.
She further emphasised that food safety is a top priority, ingredients will be handled with caution, and the matter will be investigated.
Ms Zhu revealed that the customers wanted $16,000 in compensation, but the dessert chain could not agree to such a large amount.
Although the dessert chain was willing to take responsibility and bear any medical expenses, Ms Zhu said the diners' request was outrageous, malicious and unacceptable.
"They did not provide any medical reports, but each sought $8,000 in compensation, totalling $16,000," said Ms Zhu.
Jes confirmed that she had requested compensation, but said it was the store that had asked them to make the compensation request.
She said she felt fine, but was worried about possible harm in the future caused by ingesting plastic.
"If surgery or a gastroscopy is required, it is not a small amount," she added.
"They suggested settling the matter privately. I stated the amount but they rejected it, so they are obvious not sincere."
