A man and a woman went out to eat on a first date on Mar 15 and spent a whopping $269.55. However, they left the restaurant without paying, as each expected that the other would foot the bill.
Perhaps realizing that times have been hard for Food & Beverage establishments in the past two years, after the public learned that the couple left without paying their sizable bill, “many” offered to pay, according to a Facebook post on the restaurant’s account on Wednesday.
The owners of Pa Bul Lo Korean BBQ, a Serangoon Gardens restaurant, posted a video of the man and woman leaving the venue separately, without paying.
And while the owners of Pa Bul Lo said they deeply appreciated this kind gesture from strangers, they turned them down.
“Thank you very much, really. However, we would like to deny accepting any payments on behalf of the two as nobody should be paying for the wrongdoings of those two,” the post read, adding that the woman, at least, had admitted to her mistake and apologised.
When the restaurant first contacted the couple immediately after the Mar 15 incident, the man and woman still refused to pay. The woman claimed she had been scammed by the man, and the man said that since the woman had made the reservation, she should foot the bill.
The restaurant owner, Karen Ho, then told the couple that she would sue them.
This prompted the woman to apologise and pay for her share at once.
The man, however, has yet to pay up. “The guy is still showing no signs of remorse at the moment,” Pa Bul Lo’s post said.
Ms Ho told AsiaOne that things have indeed been tough for the restaurant since the pandemic began and that this is the first time they’ve had a “dine-and-dash” experience.
The public learned about the incident after the video footage of the couple leaving without paying was posted on Reddit. TISG understands that the Reddit post has since been deleted.
The couple’s meal ended up being quite pricey because the woman ordered a wagyu beef platter.
As the man still refuses to pay, Ms Ho has filed a police report over the incident and has asked a lawyer for help in the matter.
The Straits Times was able to speak to the man, a Mr Jung, who is said to be in his 50s.
He explained that the woman had said the meal would be her treat after she had been a no-show on previous dates. He had thanked her for the dinner and then waited outside while the woman used the restroom.
After she came out, they said goodbye and parted ways, with Mr Jung saying he thought she had already paid the bill.
“She ordered an expensive beef set, and I thought she was apologetic for postponing the meet-up and was giving me a treat,” ST quotes Mr Jung as saying.
However, the woman had said to Ms Ho that the man had offered to pay for their food because of feeling bad that he left the restaurant several times when his phone rang.
The restaurant owner said she believes the woman’s version of the story.
“I don’t trust the guy. She was apologetic. He wasn’t… The last time he talked to us, his tone made us very angry,” she said to ST.
”We talked to him nicely and asked for payment, but he laughed at us. My husband said we will make a police report. He laughed and said, ‘Go call the police’,” continued Madam Ho. /TISG