Halfway through a movie, you realise the seat itself is biting you — that is what happened at Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC), Malaysia’s largest cinema chain. A couple watching a film at GSC Mid Valley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur were bitten by bed bugs: one of them ended up with a swollen hand, and neither stayed to finish the film. After the story went viral on Facebook, GSC issued an apology, promising to reimburse the medical bills and treat the entire cinema for pests.
What happened: the itching started mid-film
- According to Marketing-Interactive, the moviegoer wrote on Facebook that halfway through the film, her boyfriend felt “very uncomfortable” and kept scratching his lower back. At first they thought nothing of it, but then she began to feel itchy and started scratching her hand.
- Moments later, her hand swelled up. After a quick search online and a closer look at the seats, the couple spotted mites crawling on the cinema seats.
- They approached GSC staff for help, but the staff were “unable to help much”. The couple left without finishing the movie and filed a report for a ticket refund.
- The moviegoer said staff told them: “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 post read.
GSC’s response: apology, medical fees, full-cinema treatment
- After the post went viral, GSC said in a Facebook post that it had reached out to the couple and offered to reimburse their medical fees.
- The chain said it had taken immediate remedial steps: engaging pest control services to clean all seats, carrying out a special treatment in the affected hall, and scheduling a special check for the rest of the halls, with close monitoring to follow.
- GSC also stressed that all halls receive monthly pest treatments, and said it takes the matter seriously.
- Per the report, GSC operates 344 screens with 56,257 seats across 36 locations nationwide, plus 13 locations in Vietnam — making it one of Malaysia’s biggest cinema chains.
How to protect yourself from bed bugs at the cinema
Bed bugs do not only hide in hotels and homes — cinemas, aeroplanes and trains are all high-risk spots. They love seat seams, the underside of armrests and footwells, where they are hard to spot with the naked eye. A few precautions before you sit down:
- Once inside, use your phone torch to inspect the seat seams, armrests and foot area for black specks (droppings) or shed skins.
- Keep your bag off the floor and off neighbouring seats — hang it up or rest it on your lap.
- When you get home, change clothes immediately, wash hot and tumble-dry on high heat, and check shoes and bags.
- If you get bitten, photograph the marks and the seat, and report it to staff straight away — the fact that this couple did so is why the chain paid up and acted.
Before checking into a hotel on your next trip, run through the travel hotel bed bug checklist — a few minutes of inspection can save a lot of trouble. And if bed bugs do follow you home, the DIY bed bug removal guide has the full treatment process.
Source
- Marketing-Interactive, “Golden Screen Cinemas apologises to consumers for bugs incident” — https://www.marketing-interactive.com/golden-screen-cinemas-apologises-for-bed-bugs-incident
Written 2026-11-03; compiled from public reports. Bed bug bite reactions vary from person to person — seek medical help if you have a severe allergic reaction.