Diners who owed SMOObar $275 now called out by another bistro for ditching $289.98 bill

Update on April 26:

Bistro receives $289.98 payment from dine-and-dashers, thanks police for bringing them to justice

Original article:

The customers who recently made headlines for evading a $275 bill at SMOObar in Prinsep Street have now been called out by another restaurant for similar dine-and-dash antics.

The group of four diners had visited SMOObar on Saturday night (Apr 8) and then requested for staff "to leave the receipt on their table". However, they did not foot the bill before exiting the bar, only leaving behind a cloth bag, clothes and Monster XKT08 earphones at their table.

The bill was finally settled on Thursday night, after SMOObar repeatedly called out the diners on its Facebook page and lodged a police report. The incident was also reported by various media outlets, including Stomp.

In its Facebook posts, SMOObar also alluded to the fact that it is not the first time two of the customers – identified as 'A' and 'D' – have committed such acts at F&B outlets.

And it appears that SMOObar might be right.

Stomper Yam, who owns Jyu Gae Bistro at Bras Basah Road, informed Stomp that the same diners had skipped out on a $289.98 bill on March 11.

Jyu Gae Bistro posted about the incident on its Facebook page on Thursday afternoon (Apr 13), explaining the time gap: "Due to the busy nature of our bistro, we sometimes discover that patrons have skipped out on their bills after a delay."

According to the post, two men had informed bistro staff that they were stepping outside for a smoke break and would be back to settle their bill, but they never returned.

"Initially, we thought that they might have simply forgotten about the bill as we have always believed in giving people the benefit of the doubt and second chances, and waited for them to return to foot their bill," said the post.

"However, we came across a post on SMOObar last night that revealed that these two individuals are habitual offenders who intentionally skip out on their bills."

Jyu Gae Bistro also shared a photo and the names of the two men in question — the very same diners that SMOObar had identified.

The bistro added: "We will not be letting this slide. We do not tolerate dine-and-dashers, and will be turning this matter over to the authorities. Intentionally skipping out on a bill is an act which must be held accountable.

"Furthermore, we hope that by sharing this post with the public, we can prevent more businesses from falling victim to these scammers."

A police report has been made.

Yam told Stomp that the pair had opened a bottle of Roku Gin at her bistro too, which is also what they had ordered at SMOObar.

She said: "It's really terrible. We still thought they would come back to foot the bill.

"I am very upset. We have always believed in giving people a second chance, like maybe they simply forgot to pay but they did it on purpose. And apparently we were not the only ones. We really want to prevent more businesses from falling victim to these scammers."

Stomp has contacted the police for more info.