04/08/12: 57 students and warden down with food poisoning

Fifty-seven students and the warden of a religious school hostel here came down with food poisoning after eating chicken rice for buka puasa on Thursday.

While the students, aged between 13 and 17 years, were given outpatient treatment at the Manjoi Health Clinic, the warden was admitted to Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital here for dehydration.

The hostel’s canteen has been ordered to close immediately and the operator has been instructed to clean it up within 24 hours.

State Health Committee chairman Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon said investigations showed the group, from Sekolah Agama Bantuan Kerajaan Al-Imam Asy Syafiee in Jelapang, fell ill after eating chicken rice prepared by the boarding school’s canteen operator for buka puasa.

He said they started to fall ill from 8.45pm. “Two food samples have been taken from the canteen today for pathogenic bacteria analysis.

“We will only allow the canteen to reopen when we are satisfied with its level of cleanliness,” he said, adding that the school had been instructed to carry out periodic checks at the canteen.

The New Straits Times visited the school earlier but the authorities declined to comment on the matter.