SINGAPORE — Another eatery has reported being targeted by a fake bulk order, bringing the total number of reported cases in just over a week to six.
The latest case to surface affected Hapiha Mediterranean Taverna, located near Holland Road, and involved the impersonation of someone from Singapore Chinese Girls' School.
Hapiha's co-owner, who wanted to be known only as Ali, told The Straits Times that a man contacted the restaurant on Sept 10 at around 3.45pm, claiming to be from Singapore Chinese Girls' School and the "education sector".
The caller wanted to book the restaurant, which serves non-halal food, for three days between 3pm and 6pm for 30 people each day, on Sept 12, 13 and 14, said Ali.
The estimated value of the booking, inclusive of operating costs, was more than $3,000, said Ali.
"(The caller) told us he had been to the restaurant before. It was as if he knew the restaurant very well," she added.
The restaurant, which has been operating for two years in Ridgewood Close, in the Mount Sinai area, seats a maximum of 30 people.
Entertaining the booking would mean closing its premises for three hours over three days on a weekend, from Friday to Sunday, said Ali.
She said business was a little slow during this period, "so any restaurant will be happy for this type of booking or large order".
"(A restaurant) will not want to disturb the customer by asking too many questions, especially when they make such big orders," Ali added.
In the initial call, the caller had spoken in Mandarin, but as Ali was not fluent in it, she had asked him to communicate via text, so she could translate his texts into English.
But red flags soon emerged.
"He later asked me to purchase on his behalf mattresses for an elderly home fund-raiser, promising to reimburse the cost together with the deposit," Ali said.
"I found it so strange that he asked a restaurant to buy mattresses for him."
The restaurant grew suspicious and cancelled the booking.
While it did not suffer financial losses, it lost time planning menus, checking stock, and had to turn away other reservations, said Ali.
In response to queries from ST, the principal of Singapore Chinese Girls' School, Linda Chan, said the school is aware of impersonation cases involving individuals falsely claiming to be making purchases on behalf of the school, and has lodged a police report.
Over the past week, in addition to Hapiha, four other eateries and a florist have reported being targeted by individuals posing as SAF personnel or other officials to place large or unusual orders.
The florist and some eateries reported preparing orders worth more than $1,000 but the orders were never collected.
Separately, Hongyu Kitchen, located in Jurong, recounted a similar encounter that occurred earlier this year.
Its boss, Li Hui, told ST that a man claiming to represent an army camp contacted him on Jan 19 and 20 to place an order worth around $6,000.
The man also requested that Li buy ready-to-eat meal packets from another supplier on his behalf.
Li said he had prepared ingredients for the order, but the man repeatedly delayed payment and refused to make even a small deposit.
Li eventually cancelled the order, citing concerns over food hygiene and safety for the ready-to-eat meal packets.
"I am just a little angry to see so many people in the same industry being cheated. So I wanted to share my experience with everyone — please learn from it and don't suffer losses again," Li said in Mandarin on Sept 16.
The Ministry of Defence said in a Facebook post on Sept 14 that it has lodged police reports over similar cases and stressed that the perpetrators are not affiliated with the Singapore Armed Forces.
The authorities have warned businesses to verify buyers independently, avoid advance payments or deposits to new suppliers, and pay only for goods that are delivered.
In response to media queries, the police confirmed that reports were lodged and that investigations are ongoing.
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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
