Woman sues SIA after apparently swallowing 3.8cm-long wooden splinter from satay stick
A passenger on a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight to Los Angeles is suing the airline after claiming to have swallowed a jagged wooden splinter from a chicken satay skewer.
The passenger, 43-year-old Briohny Smyth, alleged in a federal lawsuit that the incident occurred on July 28, 2024.
While on a business class flight from Singapore to Los Angeles, the yoga instructor was served chicken satay on a “sharp wooden skewer”.
During the meal, she “unknowingly swallowed a jagged wooden splinter” that had broken off from the skewer.
The splinter purportedly became lodged in her throat, causing “severe pain, violent coughing, choking distress, and injury to her vocal structures”.
Passenger suffers scarring to vocal cords
Smyth, a former child pop star who attained a platinum album at 13 years old, claimed that the incident resulted in trauma and scarring to her vocal cords, as well as emotional distress.
After experiencing “substantial pain”, she said she eventually expelled a jagged wooden shard approximately 3.8cm in length.
Following the incident, she experienced “persistent throat discomfort, vocal fatigue, raspiness, tightness, and pain with prolonged speaking and singing”.
An ear, nose, and throat specialist said the scarring and trauma to her vocal cords were consistent with an injury from a sharp foreign object.
The complaint states that she continues to undergo treatment as a result of the incident.
The document also describes Smyth as a professional singer, performer, wellness educator, and public speaker whose livelihood “substantially depends upon the integrity and performance of her voice”.
In 2025, the yoga influencer filed a lawsuit accusing Alo Yoga, an athletic apparel retailer in Los Angeles, of age discrimination. According to media outlets, she claimed she was let go because her age no longer met the “Alo aesthetic”.
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