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What was supposed to be a romantic dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant turned into a nightmare when a woman was left to pay an eye-watering RM45,700 bill after her date disappeared
The 31-year-old woman had met the man, who claimed to be a lawyer in his late 20s, on Telegram about a year ago, according to Hong Kong Free Press.
On Thursday, 29 August, they went to Man Wah, a Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant located in the Mandarin Oriental hotel at Hong Kong’s upscale Central district.
Things escalated quickly when the man ordered two “Man Wah Premium Set Dinners” worth HKD2,388 (approximately RM1,295) each, and an ultra-rare bottle of 2002 Krug Clos d’Ambonnay champagne, priced at HKD71,800 (approximately RM38,910).
Krug Champagne is known as the “Rolls-Royce of champagne”.
Image via Sing Tao
But just as the meal was ending, the man excused himself to go to the toilet, and never came back. Attempts to reach him failed, and the woman eventually had to call friends for help to cover the HKD84,453.60 (approximately RM45,775) bill, according to HK01.
A photo of the receipt has since gone viral.
The woman initially filed a police report, saying she suspected she had been scammed
The case was first logged as “fraud” before being reclassified as a “request for police assistance” after the woman indicated she only wanted it recorded.
However, the following day, she formally reported the matter at Central Police Station.
Later, police arrested a 23-year-old man surnamed Wong in Tseung Kwan O.
Officers also seized the clothes he was said to be wearing at the time.
According to Sing Tao, Wong had phoned the hotel before the date to confirm the availability of that particular champagne vintage.
The same outlet also reported that the man previously worked as a community officer for a pro-establishment political party.
Court records show that in September 2023, he was jailed for two years and nine months for procuring an unlawful sexual act by threats.
The man has since been released on bail pending further investigation into the case
It is being treated as “obtaining property by deception”.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first “dine-and-dash” date scam to make headlines in Hong Kong.
Just last month, police arrested a 29-year-old bus driver accused of tricking at least three women into paying for fancy meals before disappearing.
