At around 11pm on August 24, a customer at Yuanchang Fresh Beef Skewers Hotpot in Lixin County, Bozhou, Anhui, China, allegedly placed an insect into his bowl before asking the restaurant to waive his bill.
CCTV footage reportedly showed a man using chopsticks to pick up an insect and place it into his bowl. He then took photographs of the insect with his mobile phone before bringing the bowl to the counter and demanding a full bill waiver.
The following day, the restaurant owner told reporters that staff became suspicious after reviewing the CCTV footage. According to the owner, the table’s total bill was 131 yuan, with the discounted amount coming to slightly more than 90 yuan.
The customer later approached the restaurant to discuss how the matter should be handled. The manager initially offered to waive the hotpot base, which had an original price of 26.8 yuan.
However, the customer reportedly rejected the offer and insisted that the entire bill be waived. After negotiations failed, the manager eventually agreed to cancel the full bill.
The restaurant owner, identified as Zhu, subsequently reported the matter to police. Following the report, the customer eventually paid the full 131 yuan restaurant bill.
The incident has since drawn attention after the CCTV footage appeared to contradict the customer’s claim, highlighting the importance of surveillance footage when restaurants investigate complaints involving alleged foreign objects in food.
