PETALING JAYA – The Selangor Health Department is yet to reveal findings of a major food poisoning outbreak at a popular theme park which affected over 800 staff and family members of a government agency at their family day last month.
While it did shut down the kitchen of the theme park for two weeks, the park remained open.
This has exposed the Department to criticisms for allowing the park to continue operating, even though it had yet to conclude if the source of people getting sick was the food or the water they were swimming and playing in; or both.
According to sources, a large number of attendees at the October 4 event, began experiencing symptoms of food poisoning, including vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach cramps, and dehydration, within an hour of consuming meals served during the event.
Several individuals had sought treatment at hospitals for severe dehydration and diarrhoea.
These include children, special needs individuals and the elderly.
The source of the contamination has not yet been confirmed but sources told Scoop that while the State Health Department has narrowed it down to a few items served at lunch, the right protocol would have been to close the park to ensure that the water in the pools and rides were not contaminated.
The kitchen was ordered closed from October 7 to October 21 for cleaning works to prevent the spread of any contamination.
“Samples from the meal – catered in-house – have been collected for testing, and food handlers involved in the event were questioned but no samples of the water were taken,” said a source.
Meanwhile it is understood that the agency is resorting to legal action against the owners and management of the theme park.
There has also been no significant outreach by park management to the agency or offers for any restitution, compensation or medical assistance despite the fact that the company which owns the park, also owns a hospital.
Checks also show over the years there have been reports of food poisoning at the park’s affiliated hotels and mall, although these were isolated incidents not on a massive scale as the October 4 incident. – November 5, 2025