Singapore – A mother is facing netizens’ cutting remarks for having extracted damages from a food stall owner who had lent her allegedly contaminated scissors to dice stall food for her baby later hospitalised seven days for viral gastroenteritis.
On Mar 28 (Thurs), Shin Min Daily News (SMDN) reported how Qín Zé Yuán, 34, had purchased her meal at a coffeeshop in Tampines Street 81 on Feb 28, when she realised that she had forgotten to bring her own pair of food scissors. So, she borrowed the stall owner’s scissors to cut cooked food pieces to sizes safe for her one-year-old daughter.
Three hours, the baby had an upset stomach and started vomiting. Admitted to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, the baby was diagnosed with a viral stomach infection and hospitalized for a week.
Qin told SMDN that she had perceived the cause of the gastroenteritis to be the stall scissors she had borrowed for the first time; previous mealtimes at the stall had been problem-free.
So, the irate mother went back to the stall to ask for compensation for her daughter’s hospital bills. The stall owner refused to agree to this but gave Qin S$300 for the trouble reportedly caused by the stall’s allegedly dirty scissors.
The online community was quick to express their concern for the mother’s actions, explaining how unsanitary the scissors were. Some warned that her daughter was still a baby who could easily succumb to harmful germs and bacteria.
Merlin Ten commented that foregoing the use of a food stall scissors should have been common knowledge for the mother.
Simplified translation: “She should have known that the scissors are used to cut up raw ingredients. The child’s resistance is feeble, but the trick is to blame the owner … some self-reflection needed. Whose fault is this?”
Gao Shuyu detailed exactly how unhygienic and dangerous the mother’s actions were:
Simplified translation: “It can be seen from this incident that the parent did not understand basic health knowledge. [Scissors from the kitchen] is used to cut raw meat and must not be used on cooked food! This is especially so for a baby, whose resistance is low. More attention should be paid to hygiene. The mother didn’t realise what the borrowed scissors could have been used on. It could have been used to cut raw meat. Plastic? Lettuce? Raw fish? I don’t know how many bacteria and parasites! … It’s terrible just thinking about it. Fortunately, the baby is fine. Parents should think! The stall vendor kindly lent scissors and should not be held responsible!”
Agnes Ong suggested that parents use their own mouth to pre-chew food instead of putting children at risk of unwanted incidents.
Simplified translation: “Don’t borrow in the future; use your own mouth to pre-chew your baby’s food. What bad luck (for the stall owner)! No good deed goes unpunished, putting the blame on others!”