7 Apr – After moviegoer Chrisanne Chin had one of her toes bitten by a rat while watching a movie at Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) Mid Valley on Wednesday, many other moviegoers had come forth with their own 'rodent experiences' at the cinema. Chin who is also a TV and film reviewer, was out for a movie night with her family when during the end of the film she suddenly screamed in pain. When the cinema hall lights turned back on, her toe oozed blood. "Once that happened, we went to the staff immediately and they brought a first aid kit to clean the wound," Chin said to The Star. "I also filed an official complaint with GSC and the management was kind enough to give us a refund on our movie tickets," she continued. She also had to receive an anti-tetanus injection, an anti-toxin vaccination, from the doctors, to which GSC told her to send the medical bill to them.
After The Star reported that Chin had posted a picture of her bandaged toe, it went viral on Facebook. "Public health and safety is paramount. I'm a regular GSC patron and this is hugely disappointing for me, as I'm a huge movie fan and writing film reviews is one of my hobbies. We just want cinema halls to be clean. I hope GSC takes serious action before more people get hurt," The Star quoted Chin. But Chin wasn't the only side making a public statement about the issue. GSC also posted their own apology through their Facebook page. "We are truly sorry that one of our customers was affected by the recent pest incident at GSC Mid Valley. The affected customer has been attended to. We would like to assure you that pest control management is part of GSC's standard practice as we take the comfort of our customers very seriously. Rest assured that we are already working with the relevant experts and parties on this matter." Following the post, many moviegoers had taken to comment their own 'rodent experiences' at the cinemas, with some even claiming that sightings of rats at the cinema were a common movie-going experience. One moviegoer, Michael Seng Wah recounted his experience at GSC Times Square, "I was scared by something [with] a shining pair of tiny eyes that climbed onto a seat when the movie was playing and the hall was dark. First thing [that] came to my mind was rat, and I was actually planning to take [a] photo and show it here to complain, but it was too dark." Moviegoer Rachel Yoong Ting Khoo also commented "Saw a rat happily going up and down the empty seats in front of me few years ago when I watched a movie in Premiere Class cinema at Gurney Plaza. The horror. The rat even attempted to come towards our seats, and I ended up [spending] the whole night watching the rat's movement to ensure it didn't come to my area."