A tourist has been accused of deliberately planting his own body hair in a plate of noodles at a restaurant in George Town, Penang, in an apparent attempt to avoid paying a £5.60 (about RM33) bill.
CCTV footage reportedly captured the man reaching under his shirt several times before pulling hairs from his stomach and chest and placing them into his meal.
The restaurant manager, identified as Cheng, became suspicious when the tourist complained about finding hairs in his noodles. Upon inspecting them, Cheng noticed that the strands appeared dry rather than oily, despite supposedly being cooked with the food.
“If the hair had really been in the noodles, it should have been oily,” Cheng said, adding that six to seven short strands were found in the dish.
The tourist had reportedly been dining with another person on Sunday when the pair allegedly attempted to leave while restaurant staff were examining the food.
Staff reminded them that the bill was only £5.60 for fried flat rice noodles, an egg and a drink. However, the tourist reportedly refused to pay, questioning why he should be charged for food he claimed was contaminated.
Cheng later reviewed the restaurant’s CCTV footage and allegedly saw the customer repeatedly reaching under his clothing before placing the hairs into the noodles.
The restaurant manager subsequently shared the footage with other restaurant operators as a warning about the alleged scam.
The incident bears similarities to another case in Britain, where two diners who refused to pay a £165 bill were reportedly caught on CCTV allegedly placing their own hair into their food.
