'Someone deliberately played tricks': Hawkers refute diners' accusations of cockroaches infesting Beauty World Food Centre

A diner's biggest nightmare is catching sight of cockroaches scurrying around during their meal. 

That's what several of them claimed to have witnessed at Beauty World Food Centre. 

In a complaint to Shin Min Daily News, one man claimed that while he was having a drink at the food centre, he saw dozens of cockroaches emerging from a fruit juice stall which was closed then.

The insects also allegedly crawled onto his feet. 

Unhappy with the poor hygiene, the man reported the incident to the authorities on Wednesday (April 26). 

When a Shin Min Daily News reporter visited this hawker centre on a separate occasion, he spotted several dead cockroaches outside the juice stall and a small one crawling on the ground. 

False allegations, say hawkers

However, the hawkers there insist that those are all false allegations and the food centre is pest free. 

The owner of the fruit juice stall, surnamed Qiu, told the Chinese daily that he cleans up the shop after operations every day.

A Korean food stall vendor said that this isn't the only time someone has made noise about the hawker centre's hygiene.

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"We suspect someone deliberately played tricks and complained," he said, adding that the hawkers are all very stressed due to frequent inspections by authorities.

"We also want to find out who is making these complaints," he said. 

The owner of an Indian food stall, surnamed Muniz, shared that his stall is located along the same row as the juice stall, and he has been visited by the authorities five times in the past month alone.  

He said that in the past five years that he has been operating at Beauty World Food Centre, he has never had so many checks done on his stall before. 

"We are all worried that government officials will keep visiting us and customers will have a bad impression," he pointed out.

He said that some of the other hawkers are similarly worried about customers having bad impressions about the stalls.

Some diners pointed out that while there are not many cleaners at the hawker centre, the place is still clean. 

One diner, surnamed Huang, said: "Except for a few birds that fly in, the hygiene here is acceptable. Where there is food, there will inevitably be cockroaches or mice, as long as it is not too much." 

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A hawker centre representative, also surnamed Huang, said that a pest control company mops the floors and sprays pesticides at the hawker centre monthly. 

She added that stall owners are also expected to ensure that the sanitation of their own stalls are up to standard.

Food safety a joint responsibility: SFA 

In response to AsiaOne's queries, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said food safety is a joint responsibility. 

"While SFA puts in place and enforces the regulatory measures, food establishments must play their part by adhering to the food safety requirements and ensure their premises is clean and well-maintained," said the agency. 

Members of the public who come across any potentially errant food establishment should report it to SFA via the online feedback form.

"SFA will not hesitate to take enforcement action if we have obtained sufficient evidence," they added. 

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melissateo@asiaone.com