Who should take the rap for Geylang Serai food poisoning?

Who should take the rap for Geylang Serai food poisoning?

Nobody dies from acute gastroenteritis, or diarrhoea in developed countries. The number one killer of children worldwide is a public health concern in many Third World countries where poor public hygiene facilitates the transmission of disease-causing pathogens via the faecal-oral route.

It is therefore unacceptable that the Geylang Serai food poisoning outbreak has claimed two victims so far with 11 still in hospital which makes a mockery out of our reputation as a squeaky clean country. (read article here)

The NEA said yesterday that it was not directly responsible for hygiene at temporary markets, but only at permanent ones owned by the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources.

In an official statement released to the media, it claimed that the care of each temporary market is the job of its management committee, although it does make spot checks on hygiene at individual hawker stalls.

A joint statement from the MOH and the National Environment Agency (NEA) confirmed that 12 people, including the first woman who died, had tested positive for the bacteria Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

Vibrio paramaemolyticus causes an explosive, watery diarrhoea which is usually self-limiting. According to the husband of the second victim, Madam Noraini Kasim, she was trailing blood as she made her way to the toilet. There may be more than one pathogen involved such as Shigella, Salmonella or Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli.

At the same time, 61 rats were found and cleared by pest controllers at the premises today. (read article here) It is most unbelievable to find so many rats inhabiting a public eating outlet in Singapore!

This tragedy is definitely preventable. It is not another simple ‘honest’ mistake where nobody is at fault. Serious lapses in monitoring public hygiene at the temporary market had obviously occurred and somebody must take the rap for it.

NEA was quick to shift the blame to the management committee of the temporary market, but surely it is the authority in charge of overseeing its state of hygiene even if it is not directly responsible.

I hope the ongoing investigations will shed more light on the following questions:

1. How often does NEA conduct spot checks on the market?

2. When is the last time it conducted such a check?

3. Did the check reveal any problems with hygiene?

4. Who are the NEA officers involved?

5. Why weren’t the rats detected then?

6. Is there negligence on the part of the foodstall holder, the management committee or NEA?

The rats don’t appear overnight and the bacteria needs time to incubate. What has the market’s management committee been doing? Is it fair for them to shoulder all the blame? Had NEA been more vigilant, it would have picked up the problem earlier and close the market till it improves on its standard of hygiene.

Two deaths has been lost. Many more fell ill and some were hospitalized. The victims should seriously consider taking legal action against the culpable parties. Or should they blame fate for eating the wrong food at the wrong place and time?

This is not just an ordinary public healthcare scare, it is a PR disaster for Singapore as well and to this day, nobody from the government has stepped forward to allay public concerns.

Where is the Minister of Environment and Water Resources? Is Mr Abdullah Tarmugi still away in Uzbekistan? And where is his Permanent Secretary Tan Yong Soon? Didn’t he boast about being able to leave his work entirely to his capable subordinates when he took a 5 week cooking trip to Paris last December?

Are these the kind of “top talents” Singaporeans have been coerced to pay top salaries for who are quick to claim credit for themselves when things are going well, but nowhere to be seen in the event of a mishap?

Blunders like this don’t happen without good reason and is almost always attributed to negligence. If this were to happen in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan or even China, the minister in charge will probably have to apologize to appease public anger.

Instead of asking serious questions about how the mass food poisoning came about, the state media has been busy trying to deflect attention away from NEA to give the erroneous impression that it is unavoidable and there is nothing they can do about it.

NEA’s official statement that “it is not directly responsible” is both disappointing and unacceptable. As the government agency in charge of hygiene in public places, it owes Singaporeans an explanation for its failure to prevent the worst food-poisoning outbreak which is unheard of even during the colonial days.

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