29th May 2023 – (Hong Kong) A video of a heated argument between a female patron and staff at a restaurant in a shopping mall in Sha Tin, Hong Kong has gone viral on social media. The incident occurred on Sunday, when the female patron, who spoke Putonghua, entered the restaurant with a male companion and sat at a four-person table without waiting for a staff member to seat them.
The staff asked the pair to move to a smaller table, but the female patron refused, leading to a heated argument. The restaurant offered the pair free food and drinks as compensation, but the female patron continued to argue and eventually threw plates, injuring herself. The police were called to the scene to handle the situation.
A customer who witnessed the incident posted a video on social media, which quickly went viral. According to the witness, the female patron was upset that the restaurant required her and her companion to move to a smaller table. She argued that there were plenty of empty seats available and demanded to be served immediately.
The restaurant staff tried to calm the situation by offering free food and drinks, but the female patron continued to argue and eventually threw plates, causing a scene and injuring herself. When the police arrived, the female patron continued to argue, demanding to see the law that prohibited her from breaking plates in a restaurant.
Netizens who viewed the video speculated that the female patron and her companion might have been tourists who were not familiar with Hong Kong’s restaurant etiquette. Some criticised the female patron for her behaviour, noting that the restaurant had already offered to compensate her with free food and drinks, and that her demand for a free meal was unreasonable.