A 58-year-old owner of a roasted meat business was pranked by a suspected loan shark into delivering an order of roasted pig to a Malay household in Tampines.
He lost about $188 as a result.
According to Shin Min Daily News; the boss, Hu Shi Ming, received an order for a roasted pig on 16 November by a customer named Li, at around 5pm.
The customer had requested payment on delivery for the roasted pig to be delivered the next day, to Block 827A Tampines Street 81.
Hu requested payment via PayNow to which the customer refused, reassuring him that Hu could call the police if he doesn’t pay for the roasted pig.
Hu accepted the order because business was bad.
Nobody home
Hu made the delivery the next day and found no one at the door to receive the order.
He then took a photo of the unit and sent it to Li, who then told him to wait outside.
Hu waited for 4 hours to no avail, Li also didn’t answer his calls.
Hu then used another phone number to call Li, who finally picked up and told him to collect money from the maid in the home.
Residents in the area told him that the occupants of the unit are a Malay widower and a maid.
The boss then made a police report.
Suspected loan shark
The prankster was suspected of being a loan shark as the number that he used to make the order was linked to a business that allegedly provided financial services.
He told Shin Min Daily News: “This is my hard-earned money, how can they do this?”
At the time of writing, police investigations are still ongoing.