Singapore — A member of the public witnessed a startling sight during a visit to Jurong Bird Park with her daughter.
She posted about the incident in a Facebook group named “Complaint Singapore“.
She recounts that she had visited Jurong Bird Park with her 10-year-old daughter earlier, Thursday (Jul 22). During their visit, her daughter had got thirsty and purchased a drink from the vending machine. When her daughter retrieved the drink, the netizen spotted something “black and gray” at the top of the can.
While she was peering into the vending machine, her daughter started drinking from the can. It was then that she realized that there was a carcass in the vending machine.
Many models of vending machines have a tiltable flap closre, but this one did not. Upon looking into the machine, the netizen realized that besides the carcass, it was dirty to the point that she felt like throwing up.
The netizen then quickly took the drink away from her daughter. However, her daughter had already drunk a few sips by then, leading the netizen to be upset that she had been drinking from the contaminated part of the can that was in contact with the dead animal’s body.
Afterwards, the netizen headed to the entrance to make a complaint to the staff who filled out the paperwork. They informed her that she would receive a follow-up call on Friday and handed her a free ticket which she could use on her next visit.
On Friday, she received a call from a staff member who apologized for the experience. She claims that the staff member had said that it was not a big issue since the can was not open.
Upon hearing this, the netizen thought that she did not want to visit the park again and had no use for a free ticket. As such, she requested a refund for the ticket that she had paid for on Thursday, but her request was rejected.
After the incident, the netizen felt that the park was not being managed properly. While her daughter’s condition was alright afterwards, the netizen herself is shocked and worried if her daughter might have consumed any small parts of the carcass without knowing.
At the end of her post, the netizen emphasizes the importance of hygiene and safety in a park which many children visit, and hopes that Jurong Bird Park will pay more attention to cleanliness subsequently.
You Zi Xuan is an intern at The Independent SG. /TISG