'I was screaming in pain': Woman suffers 2nd-degree burns after staff dropped hot soup on her at Novena eatery

One woman's dinner at a Novena mall last Sunday (July 14) ended abruptly after an employee at the restaurant dropped a bowl of hot soup on her lap.

The incident, which occurred at a Yakiniku Shokudo outlet in Square 2, left Jen, 40, limping to the nearby Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH).

"I yelled and cried on the way there. I was really in pain," the healthcare worker, who declined to give her full name, told AsiaOne.

At the A&E department, she was treated for second-degree burns on her thighs and given five days of medical leave.

Doctors had told her to expect pain and swelling in the burned area, as well as weakness in the legs. 

Unfortunately, while resting at home, Jen fell in the toilet and had to go the hospital again. This time, she had a fractured thumb. 

Recounting the scalding incident, Jen said that she went to the Japanese eatery after work, where she ordered barbecued meat and hot soup. 

While waiting for the food to arrive, she was watching a Korean drama on her phone.

A while later, a waiter carrying a bowl of soup approached her table.

"Before I could react, he dropped the soup and it scalded me," said Jen. "But he just stood there and didn't know what to do." 

"He then continued placing the rest of the food on the table while I was screaming in pain." 

Jen said that no one at the restaurant offered her any help  - apart from a part-time employee who accompanied her to the toilet to check her injuries.

"The person who dropped the soup on me didn't even apologise," she said.

While recuperating at home, Jen said she had a high fever on Tuesday (July 16) after developing a wound infection. 

"I couldn't sleep well because the pain was killing me," said Jen. "After taking painkillers at 3am that day, I slipped and fell in the toilet."

She was placed in an observation ward at TTSH and discharged on the same day.

But Jen, who is on an ITE Work-Study Diploma Programme, said she had to miss an examination on Wednesday.

"I'm feeling very helpless. I don't know how long it will take to fully recover from my injuries."

Employee has medical condition: Japan Foods Holding

Jen said that she had contacted Yakiniku Shokudo's parent company, Japan Foods Holding, to seek recourse for her "traumatic experience".

In an email reply to her, which was seen by AsiaOne, a representative from the company apologised and said it is investigating the accident.

"From our understanding, our [employee] unfortunately suffers from a medical condition which caused him to suddenly lose his balance, which ultimately caused the hot soup to [fall on] you. We would like to assure you that it was definitely not an act of purpose."

Responding to AsiaOne's queries, a spokesperson for Yakiniku Shokudo said it is investigating the incident. "We will thoroughly instruct our staff to prevent such mistakes from happening again," it added.

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chingshijie@asiaone.com