Rats drop in on McDonald diners
Fri Sep 19 2008
Tay Shi'an
The New Paper
Rodents fall from ceiling at McDonald's outlet, NEA takes action
Rodents fall from ceiling at McDonald's outlet
DINERS at a Tampines McDonald's were joined by some unwelcome guests last weekend. More than half a dozen rats suddenly fell from a ceiling fixture while they were eating.
Screaming teenage girls and families cleared the area, while restaurant staff scrambled to catch the scurrying rodents and get them out of the premises, said witnesses.
The incident happened two Saturdays ago at about 9.30pm at the 24-hour outlet at Block 513, Tampines Central 1.
Investigations by the National Environment Agency (NEA) revealed signs of rodents in the restaurant - rat droppings were found in the dry goods store and near the air-con compressors at the rear.
An NEA spokesman said enforcement action will be taken against the outlet for failing to keep its premises free of rats.
Under the law, if convicted, the licensee can be fined up to $2,000 and given six demerit points. Any foodshop which accumulates more than 12 demerit points over a year will have to suspend operations for two weeks.
McDonald's senior communications manager Linda Ming said the incident was a first and the restaurant has taken immediate steps to ensure it doesn't happen again.
Customer Quek Zhan Quan, 27, was with five friends at the outlet that night when they noticed small black objects falling from the ceiling.
Then a group of teenage girls at the next table started screaming.
'That's when two rats fell from the ceiling behind my back and landed on the floor inches from me,' he said.
His friend, Mr Steven Wang, 29, said that the 20 or so customers under the ceiling fixture - including themselves - ran from the area, while the staff scrambled to catch the rats.
Said Mr Wang: 'One of the staff, an old man, cornered about three of them and stomped them to death.'
Hanging on
There was also a small rat dangling from the hole in the ceiling.
Said Mr Quek: 'The manager climbed onto a chair and hit it to dislodge it. The rat fell. He picked it up and ran outside.'
The staff put up notices for customers not to occupy the seats under the ceiling fixture, and taped black plastic bags over the holes in the ceiling.
Mr Quek and his friends then called NEA about the incident.
NEA said McDonald's closed the outlet at 11pm and got its pest control operator to inspect the premises, including the ceiling.
No more rats were found.
Checks were made on its food stocks, disposable crockery and cooking equipment for signs of perforation or contamination arising from rat gnawings, but none was found.
The openings of the decorative suspended ceiling were sealed and the restaurant thoroughly cleaned.
McDonald's has also taken rat-trapping measures by placing 28 glueboards in the restaurant.
NEA officers and the Tampines Town Council also jointly inspected the surrounding areas and shops.
No rat burrows were found, but evidence of rat activity was detected in a neighbouring hardware shop, and its owner has been told to engage a pest control company.
As of last Thursday, NEA officers have not found any new rat droppings or sightings of rats.
But further surveillance of surrounding areas, like commercial buildings and the bus interchange, will be conducted as added measures to find other potential sources of the problem.
This article was first published in The New Paper on September 17, 2008.