Former musician recounts family ordeal at super eatery

Shirley Wijesinghe

COLOMBO:A diner at a popular multinational food chain walked into the Daily News office recently to recount a harrowing experience he underwent in the aftermath of a family meal at the super-luxury venue.

Ishan Bahar, a member of the well-known yesteryear English musical outfit.

The Jetliners said parents and elders who take their children to opulent restaurants to give them a good time had better think twice before being deceived by the chrome and gleam of ‘luxury’ food outlets for what lies beneath the plush exterior could be death dealing agents.

According to him on the night of August 3 at around 9.30 p.m. the family had dinner at this outlet. All except one of his granddaughters opted for the “Happy Meal for Kids” which offered the children a toy pony with the purchase. What she consumed was a chicken burger.

Around 3.30 the following morning she started vomiting accompanied by severe diarrhoea.The local doctor who subjected her to tests concluded that his granddaughter,diagnosed with typhoid had contacted this through the salmonella germ, which was present in the last meal she had consumed,which was the burger, by the deposit of human faeces.

Soon thereafter his daughter-in-law wrote to the Management of the food chain and a representative visited the child at their home in Hendala.

All this individual did was present the child an entire range of toy ponies.

Bahar said he would not seek legal action but insisted that the episode be highlighted in the interest of the health and safety of all children and to underline the fact to parents and would be victims that despite the all the highfalutin claims and brouhaha even at multi-national restaurants the level of cleanliness and hygiene are sometimes questionable.

This was no isolated case and he knew of two other children in his area who suffered the same fate. It is just that parents were more concerned with getting their children well and the incident is forgotten.

It is only a very few who take a strong stand, he said.