Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email Teachers Day meal ends in pain By : V. Shankar Ganesh
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Thursday/National/
20070517073001/Article/index_html
KAPAR: Pupils of SJK (T) Vallambrosa here were delighted that their teachers were giving them free food and drinks during recess yesterday.
Their joy, however, did not last very long.
Some 100 pupils had to be rushed to the Kapar government clinic for suspected food poisoning by the end of the school day at 1pm. Of these, 50 were later sent to the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang.
The 500-odd pupils of the school had earlier celebrated Teachers Day during recess at 10.30 am, with food prepared by the school canteen operator and sponsored by the teachers.
Two hours later, many began to vomit while others had diarrhoea. Some even fainted.
Headmaster R. Subramaniam said teachers prevented pupils from returning home at the end of the school day to monitor their condition. Only after ensuring that the remaining children did not have any symptoms of food poisoning were they allowed to go back.
“This is the first time an incident like this has happened. The canteen operator has been doing business here for the past four years without incident. We will find out how this happened,” he said.
The affected children were taken in eight ambulances from the government clinic to the hospital.
Anxious parents and teachers were seen waiting at the hospital’s emergency department. Several were crying as the children were wheeled in.
Later, state executive councillor Kamala Ganapathy visited the children and consoled their parents.
Hospital director Dr Yahya Baba said that of the 50 affected children, four were warded while the rest received outpatient treatment.
