‘Cockroaches in my food’: Man allegedly uses restaurant's own Google photos to demand S$300

A restaurant owner in Singapore faced an unexpected challenge when a man demanded S$300 in compensation after claiming he found cockroaches in his meal. The owner later found out the photos used as evidence had been sourced from the restaurant's own Google reviews. The 50-year-old restaurant owner received a WhatsApp message from the man, who sent several photos along with a receipt for a bill of about S$110, demanding S$300 in compensation.

Initially, the owner felt compelled to apologize and take full responsibility, but something about the complaint did not sit right. He informed the man that the restaurant would need a week to investigate, but the man refused to wait. The man threatened to report the restaurant to the authorities if he did not receive the money.

The owner noticed several questionable aspects, such as the use of a Malaysian phone number with WhatsApp's disappearing message feature and the presence of a cockroach in a spot that would have been difficult for the staff to overlook. Upon further investigation, the owner discovered the same photo among the comments on the restaurant's Google reviews, with only minor edits.

The owner believed the man's methods were "clumsy," as they had downloaded the photos directly from the latest comments and processed them with AI. This case highlights the potential risks of such scams and the importance of verifying the authenticity of evidence in complaint-related situations.