Hong Kong ‘lawyer’ arrested after leaving date with ₹9 lakh dinner bill

Police in Hong Kong arrested a 23-year-old who posed as a lawyer, ran up a huge bill on a luxury dinner and left his date to pay it

Published on: Aug 31, 2025, 12:43:31 IST

By Sanya Jain

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Police in Hong Kong arrested a 23-year-old who posed as a lawyer, ran up a huge bill on a luxury dinner and left his date to pay it. The suspect, identified only by her surname Wong, left the woman to pay the extravagant restaurant bill of more than HK$80,000 ( ₹9 lakh).

A man left his dinner date with a ₹9 lakh bill before dining and dashing (AI-generated image via Shutterstock)

Wong, was taken into custody in Tseung Kwan O on suspicion of obtaining property by deception. Officers also seized clothing believed to have been worn during the incident. He remains under investigation by the Central District crime unit, according to a report in The Standard.

A lavish meal at Mandarin Oriental

According to police, the case stemmed from a complaint filed by a woman who met the suspect through the messaging app Telegram a year ago. Wong had allegedly introduced himself as a lawyer before arranging to meet her for dinner at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Central on Thursday evening.

During the lavish meal, the pair ordered a bottle of Krug Clos d’Ambonnay champagne valued at more than HK$70,000, along with premium set dinners priced at HK$2,388 each. Including tea and service charges, the bill came to HK$84,453.60.

The disappearing act

However, when the time came to settle the bill, the ‘lawyer’ got up saying he needed to use the washroom and disappeared.

“According to [the woman], the man arranged a bottle of wine for their dinner. As they were almost finished with their courses, he said he needed to use the washroom and has not returned since,” the police source was quoted as saying by South China Morning Post.

“[The woman] tried to contact him, but in vain. She subsequently sought help from friends who helped her foot the HK$80,000 bill and reported it to police.”

The woman initially told officers she did not require further assistance when she first filed a report on Thursday. However, she returned the following day (Aug 29) to lodge another complaint, prompting police to make the arrest.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanya Jain
Sanya Jain is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Digital. She has nearly a decade of experience in covering offbeat stories that speak to the everyday experience - from viral videos to human interest copies that spark conversation. Her interests stretch across business, pop culture, social media trends, entertainment and global affairs. Before joining Hindustan Times, Sanya spent two years with Moneycontrol and five years with NDTV. She holds an undergraduate degree in English literature from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a master’s in journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. Sanya has a sharp eye for spotting emerging trends and looking for newsworthy angles to elevate viral posts into meaningful narratives. She was the first one, for example, to cover Narayana Murthy’s remark on 70-hour work weeks that sparked a national conversation. She is equally at ease writing about business leaders as about the common man, about issues of national importance and memes that amuse social media. Sanya enjoys speaking with content creators, newsmakers and entrepreneurs to transform everyday moments into engaging, slice-of-life stories that resonate with readers. When she is not working, Sanya can be found curled up with a good book. Born and raised in Lucknow, she has spent the last several years in Delhi. She is deeply interested in animal welfare and now spends a lot of her time running after her destructive orange cat.Read More

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