Three-year-old girl scalded after being given boiling hot water at McDonald’s

McDonald’s says there was a ‘misunderstanding’ between staff and customer over the request for water

A three-year-old girl in Singapore burnt her tongue after an employee at a McDonald’s outlet gave her family boiling hot water instead of cold, her father said.

Former Singaporean national footballer, Ridhuan Muhamad, 41, said in a Facebook post the family had gone for an outing to the Queensway shopping centre on 1 February. They decided to eat at the McDonald’s outlet there.

Mr Muhamad wrote: “On Sunday, 1/2/26, our heart almost stopped. What was meant to be a normal outing turned into a hospital trip after my daughter was accidentally given boiling hot water instead of cold water like we asked for. It was poured into her insulated water bottle and yes there was mistake from us as parents as we didn’t check before she drank it.

“Because of this, she scalded her tongue and she couldn’t eat or drink properly, and she’s even traumatised at the sight of her water bottle. Seeing her crying in pain and so frightened broke our heart. No parent ever wants to see their child go through this.

“We admit we should have checked the bottle again, and we have learned from this experience. No parents would ever intentionally put their child in harm’s way. We always try to check everything before giving them food or drinks, but accident can still happen.

“Thankfully she is stable now, but we really hope the outlet takes this seriously and improves checks so this doesn’t happen to another child. A small mistake can cause big harm.”

“If not because of the staff member’s complacency and negligence, this incident could have been avoided,” Mr Muhamad told the AsiaOne outlet. “The filling area was not visible, and when the bottle was returned to me, there was no verbal warning. I assumed it contained cold water, as requested.”

The Independent has reached out to McDonald’s for a comment.

In a statement shared with AsiaOne, a spokesperson from the fast food chain said: “Our preliminary review indicates there was a misunderstanding at the point of service regarding the request for hot or cold water.” The spokesperson said they reached out to the family to offer support.

“The safety and well-being of our customers is our priority. We are reviewing the incident with the restaurant team to reinforce service procedures and clearer communication, particularly when handling hot items.”

Mr Muhamad wrote: “We shared our story in the hope that other parents and outlets will be extra careful so that no other child has to go through what our daughter experienced.

“Sometimes, the hardest lessons makes us more careful moving forward.

“A painful reminder for parents too – always double-check drinks given to our little ones.”

Last year in November, a two-year-old girl was rushed to the hospital after drinking from a McDonald’s water bottle that was suspected to have contained disinfectant.