Spoiled ‘kutsinta’ downs 5 in Pasig

Five people, four of them children, were rushed to the hospital the other day after eating spoiled kutsinta, a native delicacy.

Case investigator Police Officer 3 Oscar Boyles said the victims, all residents of Barangay Maybunga in Pasig City, started to vomit and complained of dizziness after eating the kutsinta given to them by a market vendor.

Rushed to the Mandaluyong City Medical Center were Doresa Estrabella, 15; her younger sisters, Erica, 9 and Eden, 5; and their neighbors Rochell Pades and Martin Baal.

Boyles said a certain Ester Aquino, a vendor of native delicacies at the Pasig City market, arrived at the Estrabella residence inside the Alvarez compound to have her fingernails and toenails polished. Estrabella’s mother, Rebecca, is a manicurist.

After the service, Aquino took out several packs of kutsinta and handed them over to the mother saying it was her payment for the manicure.

The mother then sold several pieces to Pades and Baal while giving the remaining packs to her daughters.

After eating the kutsinta, the four complained of dizziness and started vomiting. The mother immediately asked the help of neighbors and rushed the victims to a nearby hospital.

The victims were released yesterday morning after being treated at the Medical City hospital.

A medical certificate issued by a doctor showed that the victims illness were caused by food poisoning. – Non Alquitran