For enthusiasts of hot sauces, eating a ghost pepper is a benchmark of how good one can handle spice. It is, after all, one of the hottest peppers in the world, clocking in at over 1 million Scoville Heat Units — it’s spicy enough to be used by the Indian Army as chilli grenades to flush out a terrorist hiding in a cave. 

But when it comes to scoring a free iPhone 11, you can bet that Singaporeans will be more than happy to down a whole can of ghost pepper potato chips. 

Back in July, Mister Potato Singapore launched a contest as part of a region-wide promotional event called the #ASEANSpicyChallenge. The local subsidiary of the potato chips brand wanted to entice customers in Singapore to take part in the challenge and offered three iPhone 11 sets, as well as $20 Grab vouchers to participants. 

What folks needed to do is record themselves downing a whole canister of Mister Potato Daebak Black Ghost Pepper Crisps and share it on Instagram. 

Following an extension to the deadline, the contest ended on Aug 31, garnering dozens of entries filled with contestants struggling to swallow the spicy chips in the name of free iPhones. Only a single glass of water is allowed. 

It was on Monday (Sept 7) that Mister Potato Singapore announced the winners of the contest. The brand even decided to give away 10 Grab vouchers instead of the original two so more folks could walk away as winners. 

Unfortunately, the decision left a bad taste in a contestant's mouth. According to a viral tweet, a contestant who ended up with the consolation prize of a Grab voucher had apparently been so upset over not getting picked as of the top winners that he raged against Mister Potato Singapore team via Instagram.

A series of screengrabs from his Instagram Stories were also shared on Twitter, showing how he even intended to approach the brand’s international marketing team.

When Mister Potato Singapore affirmed that they reserve the right to forfeit his prize, he eventually accepted the $20 Grab voucher, though he remained pretty miffed about the whole thing. 

“Well this might be the end of this journey,” he wrote. “My effort not being recognised.”

Another Twitter user posted a screengrab of the aggrieved contestant’s friend who tagged the iPhone winners and questioned the quality of their entries.

The backlash arrived quickly and the contestant followed up with an apology for his behaviour on Instagram, though he clarified that he did not harass anyone else. 

“I just felt frustrated,” he said. 

ilyas@asiaone.com

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