Australian passenger finds tooth-like object in SIA rice meal

SINGAPORE - An Australian passenger on board a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight from Wellington to Melbourne had an unpleasant surprise in his in-flight meal.

Mr Bradley Button was eating a rice meal during his flight on Tuesday (Feb 26) when he bit on something hard.

When he spat out his food, he found an object which looked like a tooth.

He was travelling home on Flight SQ248 after a short trip to Wellington where he was visiting a friend, Mr Button told Australian media.

He was later given a A$75 (S$72.60) voucher which can be used only for duty-free items on SIA flights.

Photos taken by Mr Button show a light-coloured object which resembles a tooth.

When contacted by The Straits Times, Mr Button declined to comment further, saying that he has lodged a formal complaint with the airline. He wants to give SIA an opportunity to resolve the situation, he added.

SIA is investigating the incident and has sent the object the passenger found for analysis, an airline spokesman told ST on Wednesday.

The catered meal in which the object was found was prepared by SIA's caterer in Melbourne, the spokesman said.

"We sincerely apologise to the customer for this negative experience and for the inconvenience this has caused," he added.

The airline will determine an appropriate course of action once the results of the analysis are out.

"We expect all of our meals to meet a consistently high standard and we are disappointed in this discovery," SIA's spokesman said.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.