Tiong Bahru hawker gets fake order to make 150 packs of biryani, appeals to public to help buy food, sells out in 1.5 hours

A hawker stall in Tiong Bahru Market, Muhammad Shazain Faiha Muslim Food Paradise, fell victim to a fake order for 150 packets of chicken and mutton biryani on Sep. 9.

The order was apparently placed by a man, who claimed to be a "Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) representative", according to 8world.

However, the customer eventually did not show up at the scheduled collection time and was uncontactable.

At around 1:40pm, the stall took to Facebook to share about the scam, appealing to the public for help in purchasing the large batch of biryani.

"Instead of letting good food go to waste, we are selling them at a special price today," the post read.

Tiong Bahru MP reposted the incident on Facebook

The incident also gained further traction when Tiong Bahru Member of Parliament (MP) Foo Cexiang shared it on his Facebook page, encouraging residents to support the stall.

"Lunch time may be over but on special days, we can allow ourselves a good biryani tea break - so calling all our Tiong Bahru residents, go down and get 'em before they run out!"

In an interview with Channel 8, as reported in 8world, Foo said that after learning about the incident, he immediately reposted it on his Facebook page and notified grassroots leaders.

He added that a friend, who wanted to remain anonymous, read the post and decided to buy 50 packets of the biryani.

Grassroots leaders also bought 30 packets, which were then distributed to residents living in rental flats by two of the leaders.

Managed to sell out all 150 packets

At 4:20pm, Foo updated his post, announcing that the stall had successfully sold out all 150 packets and expressed his gratitude to the Tiong Bahru community for their support.

According to 8world, all 150 packets sold out in just one-and-a-half hours.

In an interview with Channel 8, the 38-year-old stall owner, Sayyid (transliteration), revealed that some residents had gone down to the stall to help buy the biryani for themselves or to give away to others.

He added that some had also called the stall to purchase the biryani, and then requested for the food to be distributed to those in need as a pay-it-forward gesture.

Fake order made on Sep. 8

Sayyid told 8world that the man had placed the order on Sep. 8.

He had told them that the food was meant for SAF soldiers in camp and that there should be no beef or pork.

He also requested that each of the meals be paired with a bottle of mineral water.

Discounted price for soldiers

After learning that the food was meant for soldiers, Sayyid decided to add meat and rice to the meals at no extra charge, 8world reported.

He also gave the man a discount, selling each meal for S$10 instead of S$12.

Sayyid said this made the man very pleased.

He had also initially asked him for a deposit, but the man refused, saying that he was unable to do so as "the SAF is a government agency".

The man had also asked Sayyid for a receipt, though he did not make payment.

Supposed to pick up food between 1pm and 1:30pm

According to 8world, Sayyid said the man was supposed to pick up the biryani between 1pm and 1:30pm, but did not show up.

He added that this was the first time he had experienced something so absurd in his long career as a hawker.

Sayyid has been running the stall at Tiong Bahru Market for nine years, and he also owns another stall at Holland Drive Market and Food Centre.

According to him, he had previously received an order for a thousand packets of biryani in 2022 and did not collect any deposit at the time.

Thankfully, those who placed the order came to pick the food up as scheduled.

As such, when he received the order for 150 packets of biryani this time round, he did not suspect anything.

To Sayyid, losing money is a small matter.

It was the possibility of food wastage that he could not bear to see.

He said:

"If you ordered food and didn't pay for it, I wouldn't be too bothered by it, at most I'd just feel upset at being scammed. However, this person ordered 150 meals and didn't come and pick them up. If you want to cheat people's money, then just cheat their money. Why waste food?"

Started preparing the order at 4:30am

Sayyid revealed that he and his wife had started buying the ingredients and preparing the order at 4:30am that day, which is an hour earlier than their usual starting time, 8world reported.

Before doing so, Sayyid had contacted the man repeatedly to confirm his order.

He said that the man had initially called to inquire about the order, and that he subsequently contacted the man via WhatsApp.

However, after he had sent the final pick-up reminder at 11:58am on Tuesday (Sep. 9), the man became uncontactable.

Sayyid described the man as sounding Chinese, and suspected that he was in his 20s.

He added that the man's voice sounded sincere, and did not seem like a scammer.

According to 8world, Sayyid said he would be filing a police report regarding the incident later that night on Sep. 9.

Top photos via Muhammad Shazain Faiha Muslim Food Paradise/Facebook and Djoko Purwanto via Google Maps