Chinese woman took buffet food home secretly. She has now paid lakhs in compensation

The woman has paid the compensation to the restaurant for wasting and taking away buffet food. (Representational)

A recent incident at a buffet restaurant in China has ignited a debate online, as a customer's insatiable appetite and dubious actions have led to her being ordered to pay a hefty sum in compensation. The shocking tale unfolded in southwest China's Guizhou province and was reported by South China Morning Post, leaving many astonished.

The restaurant manager, Wu, revealed that surveillance footage captured the woman's repeated visits to the establishment over a two-week period in August 2022.

Astonishingly, she not only ordered more than she could consume but also took it upon herself to secretly pack leftovers into pre-prepared plastic bags, which she cunningly concealed in her handbag. According to Wu, this was not an isolated occurrence; the woman had been frequenting the restaurant since March 2021.

Each time the woman dined at the restaurant, her extravagant orders far exceeded those of the average customer. While the buffet's price per person was 218 yuan (Rs 2500 approximately), she consistently ordered around 10,000 yuan (Rs 1.18 lakh) worth of food—an exorbitant ten times more than what most patrons would typically consume.

The restaurant owner, Chen, further emphasized that the woman selectively opted for expensive items, including sweet shrimp, salmon, and goose liver.

Initially assuming the woman was a competitive eater akin to those featured in online mukbang videos, Chen was dumbfounded when he discovered her devious plan to hoard the food.

The woman, identified as Wen, defended her actions by claiming she merely ordered more than she could eat to avoid wastage. She argued that taking the leftovers home was a way to prevent food from going to waste, rather than an act of greed.

Nevertheless, the restaurant pursued legal action against her, seeking compensation of nearly 45,000 yuan (Rs 5.31 lakh) for the five documented instances of her overindulgence. The owner insisted that the establishment was well within its rights to demand such restitution, as signs clearly indicated that any excess or takeaway would incur additional charges based on the menu pricing.

Faced with the looming legal threat, Wen reluctantly paid the demanded amount, along with an additional 8,000 yuan (Rs 94,000) to cover legal costs.

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News of the incident swiftly spread across mainland social media, sparking a wave of outrage directed at Wen. One online commenter astutely remarked, "This is not eating at a buffet but stocking her refrigerator." Another added, "She may have paid more than the actual cost of what she ordered and took away, but she needed to pay the price for stealing."