'Don't give me Christmas ang bao ah': Hawker returns balance after customer pays $100 for rojak

It was an unexpected 'windfall' which one rojak hawker quickly realised wasn't rightfully his.

Instead of $10, he discovered that a customer had erroneously transferred $100 to him instead.

According to Facebook user Victor Goh, he immediately took steps to rectify the situation.

The owner of Crispy Rojak at Chinatown Complex shared a post on the Hawkers United - Dabao 2020 Facebook page on Thursday (Dec 12), describing the incident which had occurred the day before.

He also let the customer know that a refund was on its way.

"To the unknown customer who paid me $100 via NETS QR for his $10 Crispy Rojak, Chinatown Complex #02-195 on 10 Dec 24, please know that your refund $90 is on the way, no need to come down personally," wrote Goh.

He also urged his customers to "exercise more care" when using QR payments, adding, tongue-in-cheek: "Don't give me Christmas ang bao ah. Thank you!"

A screenshot which Goh attached in his post showed an email that was sent to a bank personnel requesting for help to return the excess $90 to the customer. Another screenshot showed the digital payment through Nets from the customer among other invoices that day.

The Facebook post resonated with netizens, who praised Goh for his honesty.

"If there are more of you, the world will be a better place," wrote one commenter.

Others were surprised that merchants are able to initiate the refund process.

In a reply to a commenter on how he did it, Goh stated that he had gone through the Nets digital platform to get the amount refunded.

In March last year, one customer had ended up paying $700 for his $7 meal.

The hawker, surnamed Fong, who runs dumpling stall Tian Jin Fong Kee in Serangoon Garden Market, took to Facebook group Hawkers United - Dabao 2020 to locate the customer.

He explained that it usually takes a longer time to process the refund through Nets or a bank, which was why he turned to Facebook to find the customer.

The customer went back to the stall two days later and Fong returned her the money.

Similarly, in December last year, the owner of a Wang Fu Roasted Delight outlet at Lucky Plaza had posted about receiving $750 for what he believed was a $7.50 meal.

According to AsiaOne's report, the customer had not been located at the time of writing.

AsiaOne has reached out to Victor Goh for more information.

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candicecai@asiaone.com