KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 — A diner in Penang allegedly plucked hair from his own chest and planted it in a plate of char kway teow before claiming the food was contaminated and refusing to pay the RM30 bill.
The alleged ruse was only discovered after the restaurant manager checked CCTV footage, which he said appeared to show the man repeatedly reaching inside his clothes before placing something into the dish.
The incident is believed to have happened at a restaurant along Persiaran Gurney in George Town at about 5pm on Sunday, October 4, according to Sin Chew Daily, as reported by The Star.
The restaurant manager, identified only as Cheng, said the man, believed to be a foreign national, and his companion had initially wanted to order fried chicken but chose char kway teow, an egg and a drink after being told the chicken was sold out.
Cheng said the man later complained that he had found hair in the noodles.
“After examining it, I found that something was amiss,” he was quoted as saying.
“If the hair had really been in the char kway teow, it should have been oily, but the hair we found was dry.
“There were six to seven strands of hair in the dish. They were also very short and did not look like eyelashes.”
Cheng said the couple then got up to leave while restaurant staff were still examining the food.
When reminded that they had not paid, the man allegedly refused, saying he would not pay for food that had been contaminated.
Suspicious, Cheng later reviewed the restaurant’s CCTV footage.
He claimed the recording appeared to show the man repeatedly putting his hand inside his clothes, pulling out what looked like chest hair and placing it into the char kway teow.
The meal cost about RM30.
Cheng said the CCTV footage had since been shared with other restaurant operators to warn them about the couple.
