Relax - 13 diners fall ill after eating hotel buffet

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At least 13 diners at a restaurant in Mandarin Oriental hotel fell ill after a buffet dinner last month.

The guests were not all part of the same group, but ate at the hotel's Melt The World Cafe at around the same time on Jan 28.

Soon after their meals, they started suffering from severe vomiting and diarrhoea, and at least two of them were hospitalised as a result.

One of the affected diners, Mr Edward Ng, 29, told my paper that he went to the restaurant with his girlfriend and 15 other friends for dinner.

The following afternoon, his 29-year-old girlfriend started complaining of severe abdominal pain.

"She went to the toilet about five times in less than five hours, and said her tummy was hurting badly," he said.

The pair went to a nearby clinic, where the doctor said the pain was likely caused by food poisoning.

"The pain became unbearable at about 11pm that night, so I took her to Changi General Hospital," he said. "Her blood pressure also started dropping and she was losing a lot of liquid."

His girlfriend ended up spending four days in hospital, undergoing a series of blood tests, X-rays and ultrasound scans.

Mr Ng and six other friends also developed similar symptoms, and they either self-medicated or sought medical help at clinics. He said they were diagnosed as having gastroenteritis.

He said that when he contacted the hotel, he was surprised that "they replied...as though it wasn't their fault".

"My friends and I all ate at the same place, except for one who arrived late. He did not fall sick." He added that all of those who fell ill had eaten the sea bass and crayfish dishes.

"But the hotel still said we could have got the (germs) somewhere else," he said.

Frustrated, he sent his account to citizen-journalism site Stomp on Tuesday.

He also lodged a report with the National Environment Agency, which told my paper in a joint statement with the Ministry of Health that the case is under investigation. When contacted, a spokesman for the hotel said it "maintains stringent health and safety protocols at all times, and has taken this incident very seriously".

"As a result, a full internal investigation has been completed, and an external investigation together with the local authorities is currently underway," she added.

For more my paper stories click here.

13 diners fall ill after eating hotel buffet

By Daryll Nanayakara, my paper | Fri, Feb 10 2012

NEA, MOH probing case of diners taken ill after eating at Mandarin Oriental hotel's Melt The World Cafe.

13 diners fall ill after eating hotel buffet

Keywords

mandarin oriental

At least 13 diners at a restaurant in Mandarin Oriental hotel fell ill after a buffet dinner last month.

The guests were not all part of the same group, but ate at the hotel's Melt The World Cafe at around the same time on Jan 28.

Soon after their meals, they started suffering from severe vomiting and diarrhoea, and at least two of them were hospitalised as a result.

One of the affected diners, Mr Edward Ng, 29, told my paper that he went to the restaurant with his girlfriend and 15 other friends for dinner.

The following afternoon, his 29-year-old girlfriend started complaining of severe abdominal pain.

"She went to the toilet about five times in less than five hours, and said her tummy was hurting badly," he said.

The pair went to a nearby clinic, where the doctor said the pain was likely caused by food poisoning.

"The pain became unbearable at about 11pm that night, so I took her to Changi General Hospital," he said. "Her blood pressure also started dropping and she was losing a lot of liquid."

His girlfriend ended up spending four days in hospital, undergoing a series of blood tests, X-rays and ultrasound scans.

Mr Ng and six other friends also developed similar symptoms, and they either self-medicated or sought medical help at clinics. He said they were diagnosed as having gastroenteritis.

He said that when he contacted the hotel, he was surprised that "they replied...as though it wasn't their fault".

"My friends and I all ate at the same place, except for one who arrived late. He did not fall sick." He added that all of those who fell ill had eaten the sea bass and crayfish dishes.

"But the hotel still said we could have got the (germs) somewhere else," he said.

Frustrated, he sent his account to citizen-journalism site Stomp on Tuesday.

He also lodged a report with the National Environment Agency, which told my paper in a joint statement with the Ministry of Health that the case is under investigation. When contacted, a spokesman for the hotel said it "maintains stringent health and safety protocols at all times, and has taken this incident very seriously".

"As a result, a full internal investigation has been completed, and an external investigation together with the local authorities is currently underway," she added.

For more my paper stories click here.

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