Woman suffers second degree burns after hot tea spills on lap at local cafe

SINGAPORE - A woman suffered second-degree burns on both her thighs after hot water spilled on her at a cafe last month on July 9.

According to a Stomp contributor who wrote in to the citizen journalism site, her friend had ordered a pot of Earl Grey tea at the cafe.

After the order arrived, the friend held the handle of the teapot to pour the hot beverage into a cup.

Then the unthinkable happened.

Said the Stomp contributor via an email and telephone interview:

"As she held the handle, her fingers were burned by the hot teapot.

"She then let go of the handle and dropped the teapot on a small table.

"The teapot then bounced onto her lap and hot water spilled all over both her legs.

"In many restaurants, hot water is poured into teapots from a hot water dispenser with a precise electronic temperature gauge that allows the restaurant to measure the temperature of the water.

"If a restaurant worker pours hot water into a teapot from a dispenser where the temperature is too high, the worker should know that the scalding water could cause a customer to suffer a burn injury.

See also: Waiter pours boiling hot water over customer after she complains online

"After the incident, my friend had to limp to a nearby clinic and the doctor advised her to rush to A&E immediately.

"At that moment, she didn't know the seriousness of the burn until she went back to hospital to change her dressing.

According to the contributor, the incident at Hideout Cafe, located near Guillemard Road, caused the woman to suffer second-degree burns. But the establishment has claimed the incident was "due to my friend's own negligence", said the contributor.

Visit STOMP for more stories.