Female hawker worker’s fingers were injured by a sugarcane machine, owner says that the machine would not be replaced

SINGAPORE: A female worker in a hawker stall accidentally crushed her fingers in a sugarcane machine. The owner of the stall gave an update about her employee’s condition, and stated that she is now stable but would need to stay in the hospital for further observation. 

The accident occurred after 6 p.m. on Oct 10 at the food centre located in Clementi. The female employee was rushed to the hospital after her gloves became entangled in the sugarcane machine, causing three of her fingers on her right hand—index finger, middle finger, and ring finger—to be injured. 

Some people who witnessed the accident also shared that they heard screams that lasted for a while before someone finally turned off the sugarcane machine. 

“I saw a man sitting in front of a stall who immediately made a phone call and searched for a first aid kit. When I passed by and looked inside, I saw only sugarcane residue on the table and floor,” another witness said. 

When the reporters from Lianhe Zaobao visited the scene after the accident, they saw a man pushing the sugarcane machine with bright red stains on and suspectied it was the woman’s blood. Furthermore, one of the witnesses stated that he was sitting in a shop close to the stall when he suddenly saw many people running, and some authorities rushing over. 

“We later learned that the hand of the female employee at the juice stall was caught in the sugarcane machine. It was said that she was wearing gloves while cleaning the sugarcane residue and accidentally got caught in it and got stuck,” the man said. He also shared that the woman looked pale after the accident, and the authorities took almost two hours to rescue her. The man shared that, from what he knows, the injured woman is from Thailand and a permanent resident. 

Medical staff immediately administered painkillers to the woman and monitored her vital signs. Furthermore, after the incident, some hawkers stated that the police had blocked the area. 

Still the same sugarcane machine for business

When the reporters visited the place again after the accident, the juice stall was open for business, and the female owner was the one running the business alone. In an interview regarding her employee, she remarked: “She’s fine, but she hasn’t been discharged yet.” 

When asked if she had replaced the machine that caused the accident, the owner simply said that it was the same device without offering any further explanation.