Golden Screen Cinemas apologises to consumers for bugs incident

Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) has apologised to a couple following claims that they were bitten by bed bugs while watching a movie at GSC Mid Valley Megamall. In a Facebook post, GSC said it has reached out to the couple and offered to reimburse their medical fees.Other immediate remedial steps were also taken, such as engaging pest control services to clean all seats. A special treatment was also carried out in the affected hall and a special check will be done for the rest of the halls. GSC said it will continue to monitor the situation closely."GSCinemas values hygiene and cleanliness. All halls are treated for pests on a monthly basis. We take this matter seriously, and will continue to conduct checks and treatment with our pest control services partner to ensure that we have an environment free from bugs," the statement read. It added that it is always in its best intention to offer positive and enriching cinema experiences to consumers.A moviegoer posted on Facebook that halfway through the movie, her boyfriend felt "very uncomfortable" and kept scratching his lower back. While they did not pay attention to it initially, she began to feel itchy and started scratching her hand. Moments later, her hand swelled and after a quick search, the couple saw a few mites moving on the cinema seats. Although the couple approached GSC staff for assistance, the moviegoer said they were "unable to help much". As a result, the couple did not finish their movie and made a report for ticket refund."The staff even told us that this has been happening in the past few months but no action has been taken. It's very disgusting and we're really disappointed about this happened to both of us. Please solve this issue before it happens to your next customer," the Facebook post read.GSC operates 344 screens with a total of 56,257 seats at 36 locations in major cities and towns nationwide. It has 13 locations in Vietnam, with a total of 82 screens and 12,887 seats. In 2016, Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuo was reportedly searching for a buyer for GSC, in a deal worth approximately US$500 million. GSC is the cinema business under PPB Group which Kuok owns. However, it was later reported in 2017 that PPB Group decided to keep its cinema business.