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The Star
5 days ago
- Business
- The Star
ByteDance food poisoning case: Eatery chain charged, chicken dish allegedly had bacteria
Yun Hai Yao had been suspended by the Singapore Food Agency after 169 people at ByteDance had gastroenteritis. - HESTER TAN, LIANHE ZAOBAO SINGAPORE: Eatery chain Yun Hai Yao was hauled to court on Wednesday (June 4) over the ByteDance mass food poisoning case in 2024 which affected 169 people. The wok-fried diced chicken it catered to ByteDance's office in One Raffles Quay on July 30, 2024, allegedly contained bacteria, according to court documents. More than 10 live cockroaches were also allegedly found on Yun Hai Yao's premises in Northpoint City on July 31 the same year. The company, which is from China, and more commonly known here as Yun Nans, faces two charges – one under the Sale of Food Act and another under the Environmental Public Health (Food Hygiene) Regulations. A Singapore Food Agency (SFA) prosecutor said the agency was seeking a S$5,000 fine in total for the two charges. Yun Hai Yao's chief executive Lu Zhi Tao appeared in court on behalf of the company. He told the court the company intends to plead guilty and is not engaging a lawyer. Charge sheets state that Yun Hai Yao's chicken dish catered to ByteDance had coagulase-positive Staphylococcus aureus counts with Staphylococcus enterotoxin A genes. The bacterium Staphylococcus aureus is commonly found in the environment and on human skin or in noses. It can cause food poisoning when it is introduced into food during the production process, particularly when good hand hygiene is not practised. Symptoms can include sudden onset of nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhoea. Meanwhile, the cockroaches at the eatery's Northpoint City outlet were found beneath a folded grey plastic mat behind a rack on the licensed premises, according to court documents. The company is scheduled to plead guilty on July 2. Yun Hai Yao, along with another caterer, Pu Tien Services, had been suspended by SFA from July 31, 2024, after 169 people at ByteDance had gastroenteritis after eating food supplied by the two caterers. A total of 17 people were hospitalised after the food poisoning incident. Pu Tien Services was given the green light by SFA on Aug 10 that year to resume operations. Yun Hai Yao's suspension was lifted by SFA on Aug 16 after it took the necessary measures, including cleaning and sanitising its premises, and disinfecting food preparation surfaces, tables and floors. - The Straits Times/ANN
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
ByteDance food poisoning case: Eatery chain charged, chicken dish allegedly had bacteria
Yun Hai Yao had been suspended by SFA after 169 people at ByteDance suffered gastroenteritis after eating food supplied by the two caterers. PHOTOS: HESTER TAN, LIANHE ZAOBAO SINGAPORE - Eatery chain Yun Hai Yao has been hauled to court on June 4 over the ByteDance mass food poisoning case in 2024 which affected 169 people. The wok fried diced chicken it catered for ByteDance's office in One Raffles Quay on July 30, 2024, allegedly contained bacteria, according to court documents. More than 10 live cockroaches were also allegedly found at Yun Hai Yao's premises in Northpoint City on July 31 the same year. The company, which is from China, and more commonly known here as Yun Nans, faces two charges - one under the Sale of Food Act, and another under the Environmental Public Health (Food Hygiene) Regulations. A Singapore Food Agency (SFA) prosecutor said they were seeking a $5,000 fine in total for the two charges. Yun Hai Yao's chief executive officer Mr Lu Zhi Tao, appeared in court on behalf of the company. He told the court the firm intends to plead guilty and is not engaging a lawyer. Charge sheets state that Yun Hai Yao's chicken dish catered for ByteDance had coagulase positive Staphylococcus Aureus counts with Staphylococcus Enterotoxin A genes. Staphylococcus Aureus is commonly found in the environment and on human skin or in noses. It can cause food poisoning when it is introduced into food during the production process, particularly when good hand hygiene is not practised. Casualties transferred into a Mass Decontamination Vehicle outside One Raffles Quay on July 30, 2024. PHOTO: ST FILE Symptoms can include sudden onset of nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhoea. Meanwhile, the cockroaches at the eatery's Northpoint City outlet were found beneath a folded grey plastic mat behind a rack in the licensed premises, according to court documents. The company is scheduled to plead guilty on July 2. Yun Hai Yao, along with another caterer Pu Tien Services, had been suspended by SFA from July 31, 2024 after 169 people at ByteDance suffered gastroenteritis after eating food supplied by the two caterers. A total of 17 people were hospitalised after the food poisoning incident. Pu Tien Services was given the green light by SFA on August 10 that year to resume operations. Yun Hai Yao's suspension was lifted by SFA six days later, after it took the necessary measures, including cleaning and sanitising its premises, and disinfecting food preparation surfaces, tables and floors. Christine Tan is a journalist at The Straits Times reporting on crime, justice and social issues in Singapore. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
10-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Straits Times
Inspiring mothers: The mum of three who became an accidental ultramarathoner
Ultramarathoner Martini Abdul Talib, 43, started running in 2012 to lose weight after delivering her third child. ST PHOTO: HESTER TAN SINGAPORE – When mother-of-three Martini Abdul Talib says she is running errands, she means it literally. 'My friends always tease me. If I say I want to buy shoes from Queensway, they'll ask: 'Are you going to run there?'' says the 43-year-old, who thinks nothing of clocking the 16km distance from her home in Pioneer on foot. She does not own a car. In 2013, Malay newspaper Berita Harian reported how she and her husband, civil servant Idi Bakhtiar Md D'Zokere, 45, jogged from their then home in Clementi to Geylang Serai during Ramadan once a week to buy food to break their fast, a distance of about 17km. It took them almost three hours, and they would take the bus or MRT home. Such distances are easy for Ms Martini, an ultramarathoner who has competed in numerous races of more than 50km, including three over 100km, since 2014 in South-east Asia. Ultramarathons are races longer than the marathon distance of 42.195 km. She aced three recent competitions, coming in first in the women's masters category (42km) in the Salomon Forest Force 2023 race in Singapore; third in the women's open category (84km) in the Route 68 Ultra 2024 race in Selangor; and second in the women's veteran category of the Highland Ultra Challenge 2025 in Genting Highlands, which is a 12-hour endurance race. Nothing seems to faze her – not even a fractured ankle after a hiking trip to Nepal in February 2019. Doctors inserted a metal plate and six screws in her foot and told her to rest for six months. By October that year, she had recovered enough to run a 55km ultra race. During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, she wore out her Vibram barefoot shoes jogging around Singapore. They were costly to replace. So, for three years, she trained and raced in made-in-Taiwan thong-style cushioned flip-flops in Singapore until she rejoined overseas competitions that required proper footwear. She now has eight pairs of shoes, each with a different function, such as for trails, roads, interval training and recovery. What makes her story extraordinary is that the petite, 1.54m-tall mother of three teenagers aged 14 to 17 was not a sporty child. She started running only in 2012 to lose 10kg after the birth of her third child at age 31. It was the cheapest and most convenient way to exercise as she lived near a stadium. 'One round around the stadium track was very tough. I couldn't even finish two rounds (around 800m),' she recalls. As she built up her stamina, she decided she needed extra motivation, so she signed up for a 6km run and gave herself two months to train. Ms Martini Abdul Talib at the Highland Ultra Challenge 2025 in Genting Highlands, a 12-hour endurance race. PHOTO: TITI ULTRA 2025 The adrenaline high she felt after crossing the finish line spurred her to join longer races of 10km, 16km and then 21km, within the same year. In 2014, at age 33, she ran her first ultramarathon at an endurance-based event at East Coast Park, where participants pushed themselves to complete as many rounds as they could. She clocked 50km in 12 hours there, including resting time. Then a primary school Malay-language teacher, she would train after work, from 6 t o 8pm. When her helper quit at the end of 2016, she became a stay-at-home mother, which gave her more flexibility to run. On normal days, she runs at least 15km in the morning after her kids have gone to school and returns by 11am to prepare lunch. Afternoons are spent on chores and supervising homework. If she is in race training mode, she does a second run of about 10km for recovery before a light dinner twice a week, while her husband holds the fort at home. Her weekly mileage spans some 80 to 90km across hilly terrain like Mount Faber, Bukit Timah Hill and the campus at Nanyang Technological University. During Ramadan, she trains in the morning for about 10 to 15km at a low intensity. On weekends during the fasting month, however, she runs from 11pm to 4am and has her pre-dawn meal before heading home to rest. Her husband, an avid runner and cyclist who has completed three ultramarathons, used to race alongside her before his workload became heavier in recent years. Ultramarathons are a test of mental fortitude over physical stamina, and Ms Martini feels they keep her grounded and grateful. 'I hold on to this motto: 'Make your time away from your family worth it.' If you're going to waste your time, you're not doing your family justice by leaving them.' During races, she wears a dainty pink-and-white charm bracelet with the initials MQ (for Mummy Queen, her self-styled race moniker) and an eight ball (for her birthday on June 8), handmade by her second daughter, Miska, 15. This year, she will celebrate her 44th year by running the by-invitation-only 55km Eco-Ultra Marathon at Income Eco Run 2025, which ties in with her own sustainability beliefs and recycling efforts at home. Being a competitive runner has made her a better parent, she reckons, as it has given her discipline, energy and more ability to focus on tending to her children. 'I make sure I'm present whenever I'm at home with them. That means no playing games or social media updates,' she says. Her active lifestyle has rubbed off on her kids too. Ms Martini Abdul Talib (centre) with her husband, civil servant Idi Bakhtiar Md D'Zokere (in black) and their three children aged 14 to 17 during Hari Raya earlier in 2025. PHOTO: COURTESY OF MARTINI ABDUL TALIB Elder daughter Mira, 17, does track and field, Miska plays in the Women's Premier League and only son Eka, 14, plays several sports, including basketball. The family are also avid supporters of Geylang International Football Club. When she is racing, her kids and husband keep the household running and send motivational messages and family updates to her via WhatsApp. Her children are so proud of her accomplishments that most of their friends – and their mothers – follow her on social media. Their steadfast support serves as a guiding light along the dimly lit roads she navigates on her own in overseas races, where the next checkpoint may be 10km or 15km away and stray dogs abound. 'I want to be a good role model for my children. I don't want them to give up easily without a valid reason, so I just focus on one step after another,' she says. Registration for the Income Eco Run ends on May 14. Find out more at Stephanie Yeo is senior correspondent at The Straits Times' Life section. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
