Zi char drama: Viral Mandarin-speaking Indian cook allegedly 'driven out' of business, sets up new stall at Cambridge Road

Polyglot Indian zi char cook Devid Retanasamy has alleged that he was "driven out" of the hawker business he'd set up with a partner.

The news of Devid's departure from the zi char stall located at Blk 603 Ang Mo Kio Ave 5 comes barely six months after it opened.

In the last few years, the 39-year-old Malaysian garnered significant attention due to his linguistic prowess, displaying his ability to speak Mandarin and other Chinese dialects fluently.

And thanks to media features about Devid and the stall, The Blacky Seafood, business was reportedly brisk. Incidentally, the stall's name was coined from his nickname, Xiao Hei, which translates to 'Little Black'.

However, things took an abrupt turn last week, when the stall posted an announcement on their Facebook page last Tuesday (Sept 21), stating that Devid had resigned.

The statement ominously detailed that Devid "is no longer authorised to negotiate or deal and collect any payment on behalf of the company".

In an interview with Shin Min Daily News this week, Devid shared how at the start of the journey, it was agreed upon that his partner would invest $50,000 in the business while Devid would hold 25 per cent of the company's shares.

Due to his status as a work permit holder, Devid is unable to set up a hawker stall on his own.

However, Devid alleged that things had come to a head in August when his partner wanted out of the business.

Devid then suggested that he would pay the partner $3,000 a month to keep the stall running. However, he stated that the other party reneged on their deal one month later and also worked with other employees to drive him out.

Devid claimed that he then received a notification from his partner on Sept 17 to hand over the company mobile phone, with the implication that he should leave.

The split appears to be an acrimonious one, based on the stall's Facebook responses to Devid's departure.

Back in business

Devid however, has swiftly bounced back from the setback, sharing that his new zi char stall, Mr Blecky Seafood, will open Sept 30.

He told Shin Min Daily News that after he left, a former colleague had contacted him about wanting to start a new hawker business together.

They managed to find a vacant stall in a coffeeshop at Block 43 Cambridge Road and quickly set up shop.

In response to Devid's claims that he was forced to leave, the former partner countered that Devid had left due to personal issues.

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Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, the partner, who did not wish to be named, also accused Devid of leaving his post during working hours on multiple occasions.

She claimed that Devid became unhappy and decided to quit after she expressed a desire to hire another person to manage the stall.

The former partner claimed Devid had poached one of their employees when he left and also alleged copyright infringement in his new set-up.

She cited the similarities between the name of Devid's new stall, as well as his publicity posters to theirs and stated that she does not rule out the possibility taking action against him in the future.

candicecai@asiaone.com