Girl, 5, gets kicked twice and suffers nosebleed at café bouncy castle, grandma claims staff did not help
A 63-year-old woman has made a police report after her five-year-old granddaughter suffered a nosebleed when an eight-year-old girl reportedly kicked her twice at a bouncy castle.
The grandmother, surnamed Zheng (transliterated), said the incident happened at about 8pm on Oct 31 at Café Melba at Goodman Arts Centre.
She had gone to the café with two other friends and their children. While the adults were having a meal, the children were playing at a bouncy castle next to the café.
Zheng told Shin Min Daily News that her granddaughter later ran back to her in tears, complaining that someone had hit her. In addition, her nose started bleeding.
Alarmed, Zheng asked her granddaughter what had happened and brought her to identify the person responsible.
The girl pointed to an eight-year-old wearing black, claiming that the older girl had kicked her twice.
Zheng then asked where the girl’s parents were, and the child ran to find her mother.
Other parent questions grandmother’s account
Zheng claimed that the other girl’s mother immediately challenged her account, asking “how I knew what happened when I was not even in the bouncy castle”.
The woman also purportedly pointed out that there was no CCTV footage and accused Zheng’s group of scolding her daughter.
The argument reportedly escalated and drew the attention of the café’s manager.
Zheng insisted that the other family should not leave, but they eventually did and the manager did not stop them.
She subsequently made a police report and called for an ambulance.
Zheng later took her granddaughter to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, where the child was given a week’s medical leave.
Grandmother says café manager did not offer help
Zheng also took issue with how the café staff handled the aftermath.
She said she approached the manager to report the incident, but was told that the bouncy castle did not belong to the café.
She added that when she brought her granddaughter into the café to look for an ice pack to stop the bleeding, the manager neither asked about the child’s condition nor offered assistance.
“I asked the manager for the address when I called for an ambulance and was asked for the location, but he did not help or give me the address so I had to ask around for it,” Zheng alleged.
In response to Shin Min’s queries, Café Melba said it takes matters involving children’s safety and well-being seriously.
It added that it was aware of the incident and that the matter was being followed up by the relevant authorities through the appropriate channels.
The café told Shin Min it was unable to comment further at this stage.
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