Elderly man allegedly owes over $300 after dining without paying at multiple Sun Plaza restaurants

Update on Aug 24:

The elderly man has spoken out with his side of the story.

Read the full update here: Elderly man accused of dining for free at Sun Plaza speaks out, reveals involvement in fatal accident

Original article:

An elderly man has allegedly been visiting nearly every restaurant and eatery in Sun Plaza shopping centre, where he would reportedly default on payment after dining.

A reader who informed Shin Min Daily News of the incident said that the white-haired man had been at the mall in Sembawang for almost a month.

Dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, the elderly man would walk around Sun Plaza, and occasionally visit the restaurants on the first and third floors, shared the reader.

The man would then allegedly come up with all sorts of reasons to avoid the bill, sometimes even slipping out of the restaurant when staff were not paying attention.

An employee from 'Lao Huo Tang (老火汤)' on the third storey, who declined to be named, told reporters that the man had already been to the restaurant five times since operations started over a month ago.

(Photo: Lao Huo Tang @ Sun Plaza)

Said the employee: "At first, when we saw that he had no money to foot the bill, we put him on the tab. He even agreed to return two days later to pay the money.

"However, we didn't expect him to reappear on the same afternoon. Not only did he not bring money with him, he even asked for another meal."

According to the employee, the man, who looked to be in his 70s, had even once sat in the restaurant for 30 minutes and refused to leave.

Left with no choice, the restaurant's boss packed him some food for free and asked that he eat it only after leaving the place.

Another staff member of a Japanese restaurant said the man had visited them twice, during which he ordered the more expensive food items. His bill amounted to around $25 and $48, but both times, he did not pay.

"We informed mall security to take him away, but did not call the police," added the staff member.

More than 10 businesses which reporters spoke to, including a bak kut teh restaurant and the shopping centre's food court, said the man had dined for free at their premises.

It is estimated that he has risked up a 'food debt' of more than $300 to date.