Paradise Group Releases CCTV Images After Tourist Claimed She Was Overcharged Unfairly

Paradise Group Shares CCTV Footage Amidst Tourist’s Overcharging Allegations

Just last month, a Japanese tourist filed a police report against restaurant operator Paradise Group, claiming that she, her friends and her family were overcharged for a chilli crab dish at one of the operator’s restaurants.

One may initially believe that the tourist had a legitimate reason to file such a complaint, as no regular chilli crab dish would cost $938.

However, if one takes a closer look, one would immediately notice that the tourist ordered not just any ordinary crab for the meal. As the receipt highlights, she chose the Alaskan king crab to be the (very pricy) main star of the chilli crab dish.

This was when Paradise Group stepped in to defend themselves against the tourist’s alleged claim of overcharging. In the compelling CCTV footage released by the operator, it is quickly revealed that the tourist was not the innocent victim she made herself out to be.

This is where your English teacher’s advice during composition class comes in handy, as there are always two sides to the same story.

Japanese Tourist Calls the Police on Staff, Claiming that She and Her Friends Were Deceived About the Cost of the King Crab Dish

On 19 August 2023, a Japanese tourist, Junko Shinba, stopped by the restaurant Seafood Paradise at Clarke Quay with her friends and family after a sightseeing tour.

In an interview with AsiaOne on 15 September, Shinba claimed that one of the waiters “strongly recommended” the Alaskan King Crab for $30 to be cooked chilli crab-style. She added that the waiter neither explained to them that they would be charged $30 per 100 grams of crab nor did he tell them the actual weight of the crab that was used.

When Shinba finally received the bill, she and her group were “speechless” at the $1,322.37 bill they received. They soon discovered that the Alaskan King Crab cooked chilli crab-style dish would cost them a whopping $938.

Shinba then escalated matters by asking the waiter to call the police.

With the police stepping in to mediate the situation, the restaurant staff showed her a receipt from another customer who had ordered a similar dish to prove that the restaurant did not overcharge her group.

After Shinba refused to budge, the restaurant manager offered a $107.40 discount for the meal, which Shinba’s friend paid for with his credit card.

Paradise Group Reveals CCTV Footage; Shows That No Possible Miscommunication Should Have Occurred

Remember Shinba’s claims that she and her group were oblivious to how the attas chilli crab dish was priced? It turns out they were far from oblivious after all.

Paradise Group, the owner of the restaurant Seafood Paradise, made a statement on Facebook hoping to dispel the “inaccurate claims” made by Shinba and her friends.

According to Paradise Group, Shinba and her group were the ones who chose the Alaskan King Crab as the star of their dish after being shown a selection of different crabs to choose from.

Paradise group also added that the waiter at Seafood Paradise had twice informed the diners that its Alaskan King Crab was priced at S$26.80 per 100g. The employee also told them the total weight of the Alaskan King Crab was 3.5kg.

Unless it were a case of short-term memory loss, this would contradict Shinba’s claims of the waiter neglecting his duties.

In the CCTV footage attached to the statement, Paradise Group clarified that staff members even showed the diners the whole live Alaskan King Crab “to prevent any miscommunication”.

If one looks closely, the footage even shows the group taking photos and selfies with the live Alaskan King Crab.

Shinba and Her Group Refused to Settle the Bill, With One of Them Claiming They Had Not Enough Money to Pay

Paradise Group’s statement does not end there.

It turns out that the real reason the police were roped in to mediate the situation was due to Shinba and her group’s refusal to settle the bill.

The $107.40 discount (equivalent to 400g of Alaskan King Crab) that Shinba framed as a compromise was actually a goodwill discount offered by the manager. The discount was in response to one of the members of Shinba’s group, who did not have enough money to pay for the meal.

Moreover, the restaurant had given the group a generous discount.

Netizens quickly responded to the statement, with most of them suggesting that Paradise Group use calculators to explain the pricing of dishes to customers to rule out any future “miscommunication”.

Others also praised the Paradise Group for standing up for their employees and handling the situation professionally.