BUTTERWORTH: A frustrated restaurant owner posts three unsettled bills totaling RM723 on Facebook, reminding the patrons having dinner at the seaside restaurant last Saturday to settle their arrears.

The three tables of patrons left the restaurant, Wujimutongxian at Jalan Pantai Bersih, without settling their bills.

The bills for the three tables were RM397, RM218 and RM108.

As none of them has come forward to pay, restaurant owner Wu Da Hua, 33, has since given up hope to recover the sum.

He told the patrons to donate the sum to charity instead.

It was a Saturday and school holiday too. The 60 tables at the restaurant were fully occupied, including the open air  tables facing the sea. The three tables of patrons who did not pay were at the tables by the beach.

Operating the restaurant for five months, Wu said the restaurant experienced two to three patrons leaving the restaurant without settling their bills on a monthly basis. Some of them realized the oversight and contacted the restaurant to pay later.

However, for the unsettled bills which occurred on February 25, it was the first time three tables of patrons left without paying in a single evening.

“We have set a new requirement of billing the patrons one and a half hours after the food is served or the patrons can settle the payment in advance at the counter,” he said.

Wu is also considering installing CCTVs at the restaurant.