Downpour puts out BBQ fire

SINGAPORE - Sure, there was a downpour outside, but pouring rain in the restaurant too?

Patrons at Golden Chopsticks Buffet BBQ restaurant along Smith Street in Chinatown were surprised when water gushed down on them at 6pm on Monday, reported Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao.

More than 100 patrons had to be evacuated mid-meal as a result.

A 30-year-old shareholder of the restaurant told Lianhe Wanbao that many of the customers were soaked after water poured down from the ceiling.

Her staff too became worried that an electrical fault would pose a danger so they evacuated the patrons from the restaurant.

The leak continued for three hours.

She said: "Thank goodness that we were able to evacuate them quickly."

She said the restaurant was almost full and there was even a line of people outside the restaurant waiting to be seated.

Three ceiling boards, each around 1-metre long, broke from the weight of the water and fell shortly after the customers had left.

NO HELP

"At that point in time, the water level had reached my knees and even after three hours, I could not find anyone who could help me," the woman told Lianhe Wanbao.

Thankfully, she managed to get a repairman's number from a neighbouring shop who had experienced a similar problem previously.

When the repairman arrived, he told her that the leak was the result of a clogged water pipe. The problem was resolved by 9pm.

The patrons were unhappy that they could not finish their meal so the restaurant waived the bills.

The shareholder said the store suffered losses amounting to $2,000.

She said: "To pacify them, I promised not to collect a single cent from them and they left without creating a fuss."

She also added there were items in the store that were damaged as well.

The restaurant was operating when The New Paper visited it yesterday.

A worker said the contractors had fixed the ceiling boards at around 2pm yesterday and the business resumed.

jaslim@sph.com.sg

This article was published on April 16 in The New Paper.

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