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A Japanese tourist who discovered her restaurant bill had soared to $1,000 took the matter up with police, claiming she wasn't properly informed of the meal's cost.
Junko Shinba, who was visiting Singapore, was dining at the Seafood Paradise restaurant on August 19 when she learned that the chili crab dish she ordered cost around $680, Singaporean outlet AsiaOne reported.
Shinba, 50, told AsiaOne's Claudia Tan that a waiter had suggested the dish, which is famed in Singapore and neighboring Malaysia.
But this seafood dish was cooked with an Alaskan King Crab, which costs diners around $20 per 100 grams at Seafood Paradise, AsiaOne reported. Chili crab is typically cooked with mud crabs.
Shinba claimed that the waiter highlighted the crab as a dish priced at $20, "without explaining that they charge per 100 grams," per AsiaOne.
A representative for Paradise Group, which owns Seafood Paradise, told AsiaOne that the restaurant showed the entire crab to Shinba's group of four.
"To prevent any miscommunication, the staff even brought the whole Alaskan King crab to the table before preparation," the representative told the outlet.
But Shinba said that she wasn't told "the whole crab would be cooked only for us" and assumed her group would only be given a portion of the crab, per AsiaOne.
She was eventually served an Alaskan King Crab that cost around $680, meaning it weighed around 3.5 kilograms, or 7.7 pounds, per a receipt published by AsiaOne.
"There were three plates full of crab and many other dishes, we were unable to finish everything," she said, per the outlet.
Combined with the cost of other dishes, the total bill for Shinba's table came up to around $1,000, per an image of a receipt Shinba provided to AsiaOne.
Shinba then asked Seafood Paradise to call the police, and officers later arrived on the scene, AsiaOne reported.
After some discussion, Shinba's group was given a discount of around $78, and her friend paid for the meal with his credit card, per the outlet.
The Paradise Group spokesperson told AsiaOne that its restaurant manager assisted Shinba in making a police report, and offered the discount "out of goodwill."
AsiaOne reported that Shinba also contacted the Singapore Tourism Board with the incident, and that her case was referred to the Consumers Association of Singapore.
Crab dishes at Seafood Paradise typically cost around $7.90 to $8.60 per 100 grams, though its snow crab dishes are priced at $19.60 per 100 grams. The cost of its Alaskan King Crab dish is listed as "seasonal" in the restaurant's menu.
A representative for the Singapore Police Force declined to comment on Shinba's case, citing the confidentiality of its police investigations.
Representatives for Paradise Group, the Singapore Tourism Board, and the Consumers Association of Singapore did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider.
