Compiled by QISTINA SALLEHUDDIN, CHOW HOW BAN and R. ARAVINTHAN
A SPRING roll stall in the traditional Zhengyi morning market in Taiwan’s Kaohsiung city caused a major food poisoning outbreak, allegedly affecting a total of 67 people and prompting authorities to conduct thorough tests, Sin Chew Daily reported.
The report stated that the city health bureau issued a cease operations order for a week pending investigations.
When health inspectors conducted checks at the stall, which has been in business for about 40 years, the operator initially refused to cooperate and abide by the closure directive.
The operator insisted that the ingredients were fresh and cooked daily. He also claimed that there were no previous food poisoning incidents.
The report stated that several hospitals had over the weekend received reports from patients who claimed to have bought spring rolls from the stall in the morning.
One of the hospitals said six members in a family experienced discomfort, stomach ache and diarrhoea later in the day.
They were admitted to the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. Authorities said over 60 patients also had similar problems after consuming the rolls.
> China Press reported that a man brandishing a machete in the streets of Shenyang in China’s Liaoning province last Saturday killed six people.
The incident, which has yet to be confirmed by city police, is said to have happened at around 4pm at three locations near the No. 3 Elementary School in Nanjing Street and the Taiyuan Street commercial area.
Eyewitnesses said the suspect was confronted by police but was believed to have fled to a building under construction before falling to his death.
“A total of six people are dead. One of them had been beheaded and it was really bloody. Another 10 people are injured,” said one of witnesses.
(The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.)
