16 Malaysian athletes hit by food poisoning

August 24, 2017 | 14:52

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KUALA LUMPUR: A wave of food poisoning has affected 16 Malaysian athletes at the 2017 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, the Malaysian Organising Committee's (MASOC) Low Beng Choo said during a press conference on Thursday (Aug 24).

Daniel Bego of Malaysia was one of the athletes hit by food poisoning at the SEA Games. (Photo: AFP)

Sixteen Malaysian athletes, from various sports including swimming and petanque, were affected by a stomach bug.

One of them had to be hospitalised as a precautionary measure and swimmer Daniel Bego had to miss his event on Wednesday.

"The matter is being investigated by the (health) ministry and the various authorities. We're not sure if the food was from the hotel; it could have been from outside," Low said about the food the athletes ate while staying at the Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel.

"It's hard to identify the source. All of them had breakfast but there are close to 1,000 people staying in the hotel."

In a statement, MASOC added that it had a meeting with the hotel's management and is "monitoring the issue closely to ensure food preparation and handling at Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel adhere to the highest standards".

TROUBLE AT THE SEA GAMES

This is not the first mishap to take place at the SEA Games this year.

On Monday morning, a bus ferrying 13 squash players was involved in an accident that left eight people hurt.

Earlier on Saturday, Malaysian Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin apologised to his Indonesian counterpart after the Indonesian flag was printed upside down in a booklet.

The SEA Games Federation president Iman Tuanku Ja'afar also spoke during Thursday's press conference and called the error "inexcusable".

CNA/ AFP

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