Kim San Leng Food Centre at Bishan hit by cockroach infestation
Kim San Leng at Bishan. TODAY file photo
SINGAPORE — The zi char (cooked food) stall at the popular Kim San Leng Food Centre in Bishan has been suspended for two weeks starting Tuesday (July 25), after committing several health violations over the past 12 months, including failing to keep its premises free of cockroach infestation.
Happy Garden Seafood accumulated 16 demerit points for failing to keep its premises clean (4 demerit points) and two counts of failing to keep its premises free of cockroach infestation (6 points each).
The zi char stall was also fined S$1,100 and is now required to send all its food handlers for the Basic Food Hygiene Course before they can resume work as food handlers.
Customers TODAY spoke to said they were not surprised that Happy Garden had copped a suspension.
“When you go pass the alley behind the stall, it’s actually pretty dirty, especially at night, said Mr Richmond Lau, 23, chemical engineering student at NUS who regularly visits the food centre.
“I’ve seen some cockroaches there. I don’t know whether it’s just (the stall’s) misfortune, as there are drains around that area.”
Mr James Low, 67, who works at the Bishan Library added: "I thought that they maintained their hygiene since the last time, as I don't see any rats running about. I've eaten from them before - tried their hor fun and fried rice. But if I knew that they were going to be suspended, I wouldn't have tried. I'll have second thoughts eating their food again when they reopen."
"I'll be more vigilant/selective which stall to buy from from now on. Hygiene is so important as we shouldn't get sick for unnecessary reasons," he said.
This latest case is the second to hit the popular food centre in Bishan this year. In January, the whole food centre, which has 10 stallholders, was closed for a day after receiving 12 demerit points for two offences of failing to keep its premises free of rat infestation, and another four points for an offence of failing to deposit refuse in a bin lined with a plastic bag. Kim San Leng was also handed a S$1,100 fine at the time.
According to a suspension notice on the National Environment Agency (NEA) website, any food licensee who accumulates 12 or more demerit points during a 12-month period may have his licence suspended for a period of either two or four weeks, or cancelled. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY IDLYKO ANG
