Restaurant safety

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 04/11/2007 3:15 PM | Opinion

On March 17, all of my family, including my extended family, went to the Golden Rama Restaurant in Surabaya to celebrate my family's visit to the town after 17 years away. The restaurant is located on Jl. Raya Gubeng 42 Surabaya.

At the end of the dinner, my 2-and-a-half-year-old daughter went to the bathroom and locked herself in. The bathroom is roughly 1.5 X 2 m with only a 10 cm opening at the bottom of the door. It is a thick wooden door with the sort of deadbolt lock usually used to lock the main door of a house in the U.S., not a bathroom.

Initially, my wife and I were calm because the bathroom had a key hole. We expected that the manager/owner had the key to the bathroom. But, after half an hour of trying to find it, we started to get panic because the reputable and professional restaurant couldn't find the key to the secured bathroom.

A lady, who seemed to be the manager, made the decision to break open the door with force. They decided to use a metal bar to break open the door. My wife and I had to agree to that decision because we didn't want our daughter to be trapped in the small room any longer. I told my daughter to move away from the door. My wife started to cry.

They started to break open the door with force.

After about half an hour, the door was open, and we could get our daughter out from the bathroom, one hour after she got stuck.

It was only later we learnt that one Jasline Eng was the manager of the restaurant. No representative of Golden Rama apologized until we requested to see the manager.

Not only did Jasline not show up until the end of the saga, but also she tried to blame my wife for not watching my daughter properly.

What if other kids lock themselves in accidentally or deliberately? What will happen then?

The question is, where is the key to the bathroom? If they don't pay due attention to safety, how can I be sure that the food is safe to be consumed?

HENRY SOETANTO
Minnesota, U.S.

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