Patrons cry foul over restaurant overcharging them

DESPITE having brought their own seafood, a few customers were charged RM1,286 for their meal at a restaurant in Kuantan, China Press reported.

Indignant at being overcharged, one of the customers posted the receipt on Facebook which soon became widely shared.

According to the unhappy customer, they sought to clarify how much each of the items on the receipt had cost and was told that the total fee charged for preparing their seafood was RM480.

“The owner told us this is what they usually charge for the cooking fee,” he wrote in the post.

According to an audio recording uploaded, the owner had purportedly said that the fee charged for cooking each of their three fish was RM60 and RM150 each for prawns and mantis prawns.

When contacted, the restaurant owner declined to comment on allegations of profiteering.

“We’ve been receiving a lot of phone calls. Many called in to comfort us and many chose to defend us on Facebook,” he said.

According to the report, the group of customers filled up three tables at the restaurant.

> Educationist group Dong Zong has criticised irresponsible politicians who are using the issue of Chinese vernacular schools to fan the flames of racial hatred to further their own agenda.

Its president Tan Tai Kim said that vernacular schools were part of the country’s diverse education system and should be preserved.

“More than 18% or around 95,000 pupils at Chinese vernacular schools are non-Chinese. This proves that the schools are not a detriment to racial unity but instead, have cultivated many talented individuals who contributed to the nation upon graduation.

“I believe many politicians themselves have children or grandchildren who are studying in Chinese vernacular schools,” he said.