Indonesia Man Dies from KFC Chicken Eating Contest, Competition Canceled
An Indonesian man died from a fried chicken eating contest for Rp 5 billion (US$384,117) in the nation's capital. The contest has since then been canceled.
Run by the organization, O2 Accion, and supported by Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), the contest brings people to compete to eat three chicken wings in the fastest time. 239 contests in Indonesia were running simultaneously in KFC restaurants, with a final winner to be determined in July.
Freedi Djajadi, 45, was on his third wing when he started to choke. He had tried to drink water, but when that failed to move the lodged wing, employees of the restaurant brought him to local medics. Unfortunately, he had already died before he arrived.
According to Tempo, now a team of investigators is looking into what had caused the death and precautions that could be made.
The Chief of the Crime Investigation Division of the Metro Jaya Police, Sr. Comr. Krishna Murti, stated on March 14, "Currently, [the Police] have examined 11 witnesses, including five witnesses from the event's organizer, spectators, and drivers."
"We are investigating the [competition] permit, [Standard Operation Procedure], safety regulations, and cause of death," Krishna said.
The competition organization had failed to cancel the event at first, bearing complaints and protests from public organizations such as Indonesian Consumer Protection Foundation (YLKI). However according to Zee News, on Monday, March 14, an India KFC spokesperson had announced that the competition that has been canceled.
"As you know, this incident happened in Indonesia and not in India. We are incredibly saddened to hear of this tragedy, and our thoughts and prayers are with Freedi Djajadi's family. KFC Indonesia is in communication with local authorities to determine what exactly happened. In the meantime, O2 Accion Dcc, the promotions company that organized the event, has cancelled this contest," the KFC India spokesperson said.
