S'porean woman, 40, doesn't pay S$203.50 Haidilao bill & steals raisin bread from shop, gets jail

A Singaporean woman, 40, was sentenced to eight weeks and five days' jail for dining and dashing at a Haidilao restaurant, as well as committing a series of petty retail shop thefts, including stealing two loaves of raisin bread.

The accused, Ong Rou En, pleaded guilty to three charges on Oct. 5.

The remaining charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

Claimed she gets to eat for free

On Oct. 28, 2024, at about 12am at the Haidilao restaurant at Paya Lebar Quarter (PLQ), Ong ordered S$203.50 worth of food.

The items included a beef tallow soup base, Iberico pork, prawn paste, Chinese bullfrog, and crispy pork strips, among other dishes.

Two hours later, the staff presented Ong with the bill.

Instead of paying, the accused suddenly said the restaurant manager had promised her a free meal.

The staff then clarified with the restaurant manager and was told that what the woman claimed was not true.

Ong then said she was a Haidilao staff at the Marina Bay Sands outlet.

After verifying with the Marina Bay Sands outlet, it was again discovered that the woman was not telling the truth.

She also could not produce a staff card when asked for it.

She then left the restaurant without paying.

The manager made a police report on the same day.

Stole bread

About two months later, on Dec. 21, 2024, Ong committed theft at a shop at Block 720 Jurong West Avenue 5.

She stole two loaves of California raisin bread valued at S$7.80 and returned a few minutes later to take six sambal ikan bilis buns valued at S$9.60.

The store manager noticed the thefts three days later while reviewing surveillance footage and reported the matter to the police.

Ong subsequently admitted to stealing the items as she had an urge to do so.

Stole from Don Don Donki

On Oct. 6, 2025, at about 5.45pm, Ong took S$300 worth of items at the Don Don Donki outlet located in Jurong West, and placed them in a white tote bag.

The items included one bottle of Smirnoff ice wild grape drink valued at S$4.90 and four slices of Mekajiki sashimi valued at S$55.20, among other goods.

She spent 15 minutes in the shop.

The retail manager detected the accused’s offences when he reviewed the surveillance footage more than a week later on Oct. 15 and reported it to the police.

The accused admitted to the theft and said she had been under a lot of mental stress at the time.

Pleaded for leniency

The court heard that Ong expressed remorse and deep regret for wasting public resources, Shin Min Daily News reported.

She added that she would actively seek treatment after her release, claiming that she never intended to evade responsibility and had promised her lawyer that she would change.

She also explained that she dined and dashed at Haidilao because she was angry with the waiter.