Hawkers vexed over cockroach complaint at Beauty World Food Centre
Hawkers at Beauty World Food Centre have been vexed recently after frequent inspections by authorities over the cleanliness of the premises.
This follows at least one complaint from a diner to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) over cockroaches seen scurrying around the stalls.
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, one diner said he saw dozens of cockroaches emerging from a fruit juice stall which was closed at the time.
The insects, he said, 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 reporter visited the hawker centre later on, they spotted several dead cockroaches outside the juice stall and a small one crawling on the ground.
However, hawkers there insist that the food centre is pest-free.
The owner of the fruit juice stall, surnamed Qiu, told Shin Min that he cleans up the shop after operations every day.
A Korean food stall vendor said this isn't the first time someone has made noise about the hawker centre's hygiene.
"We suspect someone deliberately played tricks and complained," he said, adding that the hawkers are all very stressed due to the frequent inspections by authorities.
"We also want to find out who is making these complaints.”
The owner of an Indian food stall, surnamed Muniz, and whose stall is located along the same row as the juice stall, said he has been visited by the authorities five times in the past month alone.
In five years operating at Beauty World Food Centre, he said he has never had so many checks on his stall before.
"We are all worried that government officials will keep visiting us, and customers will have a bad impression," he said.
One diner interviewed 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’s not too much."
According to Shin Min, a hawker centre representative said a pest control company mops the floors and sprays pesticides at the premises monthly.
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