A woman has reportedly apologised and paid up after being accused of using a fake PayNow screenshot twice at a Thai restaurant in Katong.
Khao Hom by Rung Mama told Shin Min Daily News that the woman first visited its branch in Katong Square along East Coast Road on 6 July 2024.
Source: Google Maps
The restaurant’s owner, named only as 36-year-old Ms Cai (transliterated from Mandarin), said the woman ordered food costing S$196.20 for takeaway.
She showed what appeared to be a PayNow transfer record on her phone to staff, who didn’t suspect anything.
Source: Khao Hom by Rung Mama via Shin Min Daily News
However, Ms Cai discovered that the payment wasn’t made about a week later when she checked her bank records.
She didn’t make a police report as some time had passed since the incident and CCTV footage didn’t capture her face.
On 28 Dec, the woman unexpectedly returned to Khao Hom and ordered S$138.10 of food for dine-in.
Again, she showed the staff a PayNow screenshot for the amount.
Source: Khao Hom by Rung Mama via Shin Min Daily News
While the employee didn’t know this was the same woman who previously evaded payment, they became suspicious that she ordered so much food.
Thus, they texted Ms Cai to ask whether she’d received the payment.
When she realised that she hadn’t, she asked staff to stop the woman from leaving.
The woman caused a commotion, insisting that she could leave her phone number so they could contact her.
Eventually, she paid for her bill via credit card upon their insistence.
Two days later, the woman visited the restaurant for the third time in six months.
This time, she ordered S$95.50 worth of food.
When making payment, she kept talking to staff and trying to check her bill.
Ms Cai believed she was trying to pull the same “fake PayNow screenshot” trick again and tried to take a photo of her with her phone.
When the woman seemed to notice that the game was up, she finally paid by credit card.
On 1 Jan, Ms Cai posted CCTV footage of the woman online to warn other businesses.
Source: Khao Hom by Rung Mama via Shin Min Daily News
Subsequently, the woman went to the restaurant last Friday (3 Jan) and paid the S$196.20 she owed from her first visit.
She also gave staff a handwritten note.
According to the note seen by Shin Min, she apologised for her actions, saying they were due to “greed”.
Claiming that she suffered from bulimia and couldn’t think clearly, she promised not to pull the stunt with other restaurants and hoped Ms Cai would accept her apology.
However, Ms Cai believed the woman’s apology wasn’t sincere as she just handed the note to a staff member and left.
The woman also asked her to take down the CCTV footage she posted online, even though at the time the owner wasn’t sure whether it was of the same woman.
She has since changed the restaurant’s PayNow name so it’s different from the one above the QR code.
This will make it easier for her staff to tell whether PayNow screenshots are real or fake, she said.
Also read: Woman apologises after being accused of using fake PayNow screenshot at Clarke Quay store
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Featured image adapted from Khao Hom by Rung Mama via Shin Min Daily News.
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