Singapore Airlines sued over satay skewer injury claim

Former Thai teen pop star Briohny Smyth has filed a lawsuit against Singapore Airlines in Los Angeles, alleging that a sharp piece of a chicken satay skewer lodged in her throat and injured her vocal cords.

The lawsuit, filed in a Los Angeles federal court on July 24, concerns an incident on a Singapore Airlines flight to Los Angeles on July 28, 2024. Singapore Airlines had not yet publicly commented on the case as of August 3.

According to court documents reviewed by UK newspaper The Independent, Smyth, 44, was travelling in business class when a wooden piece broke away from a satay skewer while she was eating her in-flight meal.

Claim centres on business-class meal

Smyth said the fragment became stuck in her throat, causing immediate pain, violent coughing and choking sensations. She eventually expelled a jagged piece of wood measuring roughly 3.8 centimetres, according to the lawsuit.

The complaint says she was eating the meal as intended and was not responsible for the injury.

She later sought treatment from an ear, nose and throat specialist, who found scarring and trauma to her vocal cords said to be consistent with an injury from a sharp foreign object.

Voice-related losses sought

Smyth alleges she has continued to suffer throat discomfort, vocal fatigue, hoarseness, tightness and pain when speaking or singing for extended periods since the flight.

The former singer became well known in Thailand as a teenager, releasing a platinum-selling album at the age of 13 during a music career spanning the late 1990s and early 2000s. She later left the entertainment business and became a US-based yoga instructor and wellness educator.

Her complaint describes her as a professional singer, performer, wellness educator and public speaker, and argues that her voice is central to her work.

She is seeking damages for bodily injury, lost earning capacity, professional harm and emotional distress. The claimed emotional harm includes anxiety associated with eating and flying.

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4 August 2026