A family suffering from 1st and 2nd-degree burns after a hotpot explosion at a restaurant in KL is demanding for justice.
In a viral Facebook post in the group KL吹水站, Jason recounts the traumatic experience he and his family went through back in September last year.
The lead up to the explosion
According to Jason, his family had ordered four hotpots, but less than 5 minutes since they started eating, the fire for 2 of them went out.
They called a male staff over to reignite the fire. As the restaurant uses gel fuel for their hotpots and the one at Jason’s table was running out, the staff took the gel fuel container away and shook it gently before lighting it again.
Not long after, the fire for 2 of the other hotpots also got extinguished. This time, Jason and his family were assisted by a more experienced female employee.
“Her method of handling the gel container was very different from the male staff. She shook it so vigorously that the next thing we knew, there was a loud bang. The gel container had exploded.”
Getting burned on the face, back and chest
In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, Jason shared that the restaurant staff did nothing for 5 minutes before an employee used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire.
However, by then, Jason and his family had obtained burns on their skin.
“There were flames on me and my father’s faces, backs and chests. My parents were frantically trying to put out the fire on my body while my sister helped with my dad’s,” said Jason.
“When I noticed that my hand was hurting a lot and that my forehead was bleeding, my mum quickly drove me to a nearby private hospital for emergency treatment.”
The restaurant owners also sent Jason’s father and 2 sisters to the hospital for treatment.
The owners agreed to compensate Jason’s family
On the way to the hospital, the restaurant owners allegedly assured Jason’s sisters that they would take responsibility for all of their medical expenses and costs for follow-up treatments.
As they were at a loss for what to do once they reached the hospital, Jason and his family first used their insurance to get treated as soon as possible.
They agreed that they would only discuss any plans for compensation after Jason had made a full recovery.
An unreasonable compensation plan
In October, Jason proposed a compensation plan after speaking with the restaurant owners, who said that they would get back to Jason in one week’s time.
After procrastinating on Jason’s claim for about a month, the restaurant finally broke their silence and rejected the claim.
“They proposed a completely unreasonable compensation package. The package included RM2,000 in cash and RM1,000 in cash vouchers to dine at their restaurant,” said Jason, who rejected their offer.
Then, the restaurant made another suggestion, increasing the cash compensation to RM3,000 from RM2,000.
“My medical expenses racked up a total of close to RM30,000 and my tuition fees now cost RM10,000 due to one month’s absence. As for my part-time job, I would’ve made RM5,000 and my clothes are worth RM500.”
“Also, we no longer dare to eat at restaurants with open fires because this incident has caused us psychological trauma.”
To end the post, Jason emphasised that he created the post to demand justice for himself and his family. He also hopes that this will prevent others from becoming victims too.
Watch the full video below:
Posted by Jason Chiu on Saturday, January 7, 2023
We hope Jason and his family is recovering well. May justice be served.
Also read: Ampang Man Killed in Explosion From Package Left on The Hood of His Car
