Man Leaves Far East Plaza Tattoo Parlour Without Paying S$500 Bill, Store Appeals For Info

Man Leaves Far East Plaza Tattoo Parlour With Unfinished Ink Work & Blocks Artist On WhatsApp

Getting a tattoo is an intricate process that’s time-consuming for both the client and artist, which is why due payment for the service is important.

So when a client left a tattoo parlour at Far East Plaza without paying for his ink, the artist was rightfully upset.

The store took to its Instagram to share about the incident and appeal for information.

Customer claimed he had to leave for urgent matter

In a series of Instagram stories on Monday (3 July), Inkvasion Tattoo Studio revealed that a male customer had fled without paying his S$500 bill.

They shared his name but also referred to him as ‘Dave’. According to Inkvasion, a tattoo artist at the store had spent seven long hours tattooing a purple phurba dagger on the back of Dave’s arm when the client abruptly vanished.

The artist, Mr Brandon Christopher, told The Straits Times (ST) that Dave said he needed to go to the toilet after the session on 30 June.

But the latter never returned and instead sent a text claiming that something urgent had cropped up.

In the message, he asked how much his appointment cost and promised to transfer the amount to the artist when he got home.

Didn’t pay for 7-hour tattoo session at Far East Plaza parlour

But after waiting a while, the payment didn’t come in. When the artist chased him for it later that night, Dave allegedly asked if he could pay before his next session on 18 July.

Mr Brandon reportedly told him ‘no’ and was subsequently blocked from sending him messages, noted ST.

Dave had apparently booked a second session on 18 July to finish his incomplete tattoos. He had paid a S$100 deposit for that.

Besides his tattoo of a phurba, or a ritual Buddhist dagger, Dave had the following unfinished inkwork:

• outline of a tiger on his left arm
• coloured Kali or Hindu goddess on the inner part of his left arm

Robbed artist of a full day’s pay

Expressing their frustration with the incident, Inkvasion explained how much the missed payment impacts their artists.

Since they don’t get fixed salaries, artists apparently take home a portion of the fees paid per session.

As Dave’s session took up an entire day, he essentially robbed Mr Brandon of a full day’s pay by leaving without paying his bill.

Inkvasion noted that this was money he could have used for household necessities as well as his family.

Moreover, the time and supplies spent on the alleged runaway customer could have been better utilised on a paying customer instead.

Following the incident, the store declared that they’ve filed a police report. They are also appealing for anyone with information on Dave to contact them via WhatsApp at 8846 4444.

MS News has contacted Inkvasion for comments. We’ll update the article once more information is available.

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Featured image adapted from Google Maps and @inkvasionsg on Instagram.