CNA (Page 68)

SINGAPORE: Investigations are underway after a mass food poisoning incident at the Singapore office of TikTok owner ByteDance on Tuesday (Jul 30).

A total of 130 people reported having gastroenteritis symptoms, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said on Wednesday. 

In response, the health authorities have suspended the food business operations of Yun Hai Yao at Northpoint City and Pu Tien Services at Senoko South Road. Both caterers had supplied the food that was consumed by ByteDance employees, they added.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) deployed 17 ambulances to the scene in response to the incident.

ByteDance employees recounted seeing vomit on the floor and colleagues wincing in pain. A 28-year-old employee who declined to be named told CNA that the “whole office smelled like vomit”.

Fifty-seven people were taken to the hospital on Tuesday and 17 remain hospitalised but are in stable condition. 

The suspected cause? Food from a canteen on the 26th floor of One Raffles Quay, which the affected employees had consumed. 

What could have caused such severe bouts of food poisoning, and how can it be avoided? 

What causes food poisoning? 

According to Ms Chan Fong Ying, the senior food safety consultant and trainer at consultancy ISRC, severe food poisoning cases are often linked to “high-risk” foods and conditions that facilitate the growth and transmission of harmful pathogens.

“High-risk foods include undercooked meats, raw poultry, seafood, unpasteurized dairy products, and prepared salads like coleslaw and pasta salads,” said Ms Chan. 

She said that these foods can harbour bacteria such as salmonella, E. coli, listeria, and staphylococcus aureus, which produce toxins that can cause intense gastrointestinal symptoms.

In addition, improper food handling practices, such as inadequate cooking, poor refrigeration, and cross-contamination of raw and cooked food, can significantly increase the risk of contamination.

Food prepared by individuals with poor hygiene or those who are unwell can also introduce pathogens into the food supply. 

Likewise, conditions such as warm temperatures and prolonged storage at unsafe temperatures can promote bacterial growth in food, and contribute to the severity of the illness, she added. 

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“EVERY SINGLE FLOOR HAD PEOPLE VOMITTING”

ByteDance employees who spoke to CNA said people started feeling ill from about 3pm. They recounted seeing vomit on the floor and colleagues wincing in pain. 

As more employees began falling ill, messages appeared on a company group chat seen by CNA asking if people were suffering from symptoms like diarrhoea or vomiting, while others requested that toilets and pantry sinks that were choked with vomit be cleaned. 

Andre (not his real name) ate at the canteen on the 26th floor on Tuesday, but did not fall ill. Putien and Yun Nans operate one buffet line each in the canteen, and he said only people who ate at one of the buffet lines had food poisoning, although it was unclear which caterer operated this buffet line.

“Every single floor had people vomiting, which was quite gross,” Andre said. 

On the floor he works on, vomit was seen on the floor outside the entrance of the toilets. The situation was worse on other floors, he said. 

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it received multiple calls for medical assistance at 3.15pm, and deployed 17 ambulances.

Andre said SCDF cordoned off an area on the first floor of the building. About 10 people were inside the cordon, lying on the floor wincing in pain while waiting to be attended to by paramedics. 

Later that night, the company emailed a form to employees to report if they were ill, what their symptoms were and whether they had any allergies, he said. 

A 28-year-old employee who declined to be named told CNA on Tuesday evening that their colleagues started to feel nauseous about an hour after having lunch. 

“Mostly vomiting and diarrhoea. The toilets were all full and there were people lying on the floor. The whole office smelled like vomit.”

They added that the scene was “quite chaotic” as people vomited on the floor and in the pantry, with cleaners “rushing around the office cleaning up the mess”.

“Two of my teammates went to the hospital via SCDF, while four went to the clinic. They didn’t want to go to the hospital.”

Those who sought treatment from clinics themselves were given three days of sick leave, the employee said. 

Employees confirmed that the canteen on the 26th floor was closed on Wednesday. Both caterers were engaged about two months ago, and offer standard Chinese fare from their restaurants, they told CNA. 

The canteen on the 26th floor is popular and sees long queues every day, ByteDance employees said. 

Peter (not his real name) said the food served in the buffet lines is “generally even better” than those at the other canteens or buffets outside. 

While he did not eat there on Tuesday, other colleagues mentioned that the affected buffet line served chicken, prawns, gizzard and vegetables. 

The food is usually fresh and warm, he said. “It’s really next to the kitchen. They (heat it up) and then they put it directly on the pots and it finishes quite fast because of the long queue.” 

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SINGAPORE: Singapore still has not decided whether to deploy nuclear energy in the country, but signed an agreement with the United States as it continues to study ways to decarbonise its power sector.

Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken inked the civil nuclear cooperation agreement on Wednesday (Jul 31) during an official visit by Blinken to Singapore.

Also known as a “123 Agreement”, it will need to be reviewed by the US Congress before it comes into force. The agreement will last for 30 years once it kicks in.

What is a 123 Agreement, and why is it important?

When the US wants to conduct a significant nuclear export, the importing country must first sign an agreement stating that it will prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

That is specified under Section 123 of the US’ Atomic Energy Act, which is how the agreements got their nickname. 

At the signing ceremony, Dr Balakrishnan said the agreement facilitates access to information and technological expertise, and allows Singapore to engage more with civil nuclear experts in the US.

The agreement outlines a way to deepen peaceful nuclear cooperation between the US and Singapore based on a mutual commitment to nuclear non-proliferation, according to a joint statement by the US and Singapore governments. 

Singapore can also get involved in other capacity-building initiatives such as the Foundational Infrastructure for the Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) programme. 

The two countries intend to better understand how advanced nuclear energy technologies – including small modular reactors – can potentially support climate goals while balancing critical energy needs.

“This will support Singapore’s efforts to understand and evaluate advanced nuclear energy technologies, should viable options emerge,” the statement said. 

How does it work for countries that sign one?

The US has 24 active 123 Agreements, including with countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

The agreements have to include nine non-proliferation criteria set out in Section 123 to guarantee that the partner countries use any information gained for peaceful purposes.

For example, nuclear materials must be physically secured and cannot be enriched, reprocessed or transferred without consent from the US. 

Countries must also abide by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s standards on the use and security of nuclear material.

The Department of State’s website said such agreements set the foundation for collaboration with the US on nuclear energy as well as related educational and technological transfers.

A 123 Agreement with the US also allows Singapore to work with other countries that use nuclear technology originating in the US. 

“This will allow us to work more closely with US institutions, as well as civil nuclear entities in other countries,” the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said in a factsheet.

“Such collaboration will facilitate Singapore’s capability-building journey.”

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SINGAPORE: For some Direct School Admission (DSA) entry points such as team sports and arts-related fields, the selection process contains a layer of subjectivity that makes it difficult to decide on the best or most deserving applicant.

And this could be exploited especially if it boils down to one person having the final word – which is often the case, according to sports coaches and former students who benefited from the scheme.

They were speaking with CNA after Singapore launched investigations into a basketball coach who allegedly accepted bribes to secure students’ spots in secondary schools under the DSA pathway. 

Even though the allegations remain unproven, the case also raises longstanding questions of whether the DSA system is truly equitable and fair, said one expert. 

The DSA scheme, which was introduced in 2004, lets students use talents in areas such as sports, music and leadership to get into secondary schools or junior colleges (JCs), before they even sit for examinations.

Last year, nearly 40 per cent – or 14,500 students – of the Primary 6 cohort submitted DSA applications. Of these, only about one-third or 4,400 students succeeded.

It was first reported last Wednesday (Jul 24) that the coach allegedly charged parents up to S$50,000 to put their children in schools of their choice. 

The Ministry of Education (MOE) said that the coach has been deregistered since April and is no longer working in any MOE school, while the Sport Singapore statutory board said his National Registry of Coaches membership has been suspended. 

“THE BIGGEST SAY”

Coaches and former DSA students who spoke to CNA requested anonymity as they did not want to be seen criticising the institutions they either work for or once attended.

One basketball coach told CNA that “every system has its own grey areas”; and that he was not surprised by the control that the coach being probed allegedly had over the selection process. 

Speaking from his own experience, while he was coaching a secondary school, the teacher-in-charge of basketball trusted him with “100 per cent rights” to pick students under the DSA.

The teacher might not have had time to interview every student, and would defer to his judgment on some cases.

In light of the alleged bribery case, MOE had said in a statement that schools need to form selection panels led by their leadership teams, to evaluate DSA applicants. Coaches can play a supportive role when necessary, but do not have the final say on admission, the ministry stated.

The MOE website acknowledges, however, that “different schools have different selection processes”, and recommends checking the individual institutions’ websites for details.

A 26-year-old who entered secondary school in 2011 under the DSA in badminton said she always had the impression it was the coach who had “the biggest say” and eventually decided who got picked – and that teachers were only involved administratively.

During her DSA trial, the coach watched the students play against each other and assessed their skills. It seemed like it solely depended on whether the coach thought she was up to par, she said.

At a school she tried to enter under the DSA, the teacher-in-charge of badminton had a short conversation with her and her mother, rather than a proper interview.

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SCDF told CNA that it received multiple calls for medical assistance at One Raffles Quay at 3.15pm on Tuesday.

It had earlier said 15 ambulances were deployed to the scene, and that 30 people who experienced symptoms of abdominal pain and vomiting had been taken to hospitals.

The number of ambulances deployed as well as the number of people taken to hospital were later revised to 17 and 41 respectively. 

In its initial statement at 7.32pm, SCDF described the incident as “still ongoing”. In its update at 8.15pm, SCDF said that all its personnel and emergency vehicles had returned to their respective fire stations and fire posts.

“WHOLE OFFICE SMELLED LIKE VOMIT”

A 28-year-old ByteDance employee told CNA on Tuesday evening that the canteen on the 26th floor, which operates from 12pm to 2pm, serves “China-style Chinese food” and is “quite popular among employees”.

“It’s a new vendor which was only recently engaged, perhaps two months ago,” said the employee, who wished to remain anonymous.

“My colleagues felt nauseous about an hour after lunch (around 3pm). Mostly vomiting and diarrhoea. The toilets were all full and there were people lying on the floor. The whole office smelled like vomit.”

The staff member added that the scene was “quite chaotic” as people vomited on the floor and in the pantry, with cleaners “rushing around the office cleaning up the mess”.

“Two of my teammates went to the hospital via SCDF, while four went to the clinic. They didn’t want to go to the hospital.”

The employee noted that those who visited the general practitioner (GP) clinic obtained a three-day sick leave.

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