A 23-year-old man arrested for allegedly duping a woman into paying an HK$84,454 dinner bill at the luxury hotel Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong may have planned the scheme in advance, as sources said he personally called the hotel’s Chinese restaurant to reserve a table and inquired about the availability of the premium French champagne "Krug Clos d'Ambonnay.”
It is understood that Wong called the hotel to book the table and reserved the 2002 vintage of champagne when the staff told him that the 2002 and 2006 vintages were both available.
A veteran food and beverage industry insider suggested that Wong’s behavior appeared premeditated, as if he deliberately set out to prank the victim.
The suspect, surnamed Wong, was arrested last Friday night in Tseung Kwan O on charges of obtaining property by deception and has been released on bail pending further investigation. He is required to report to the police later this month.
The incident occurred on Thursday last week when Wong, posing as a lawyer, met a 31-year-old woman he had connected with on Telegram.
After consuming the set dinner -- which cost HK$2,388 per person with dishes like braised bird's nest, abalone, M9 wagyu cubes -- as well as a bottle of HK$71,800 champagne, Wong excused himself to use the restroom and never returned.
The woman initially reported the incident but stated she required no further police assistance. She returned to file another report the next day, prompting an investigation and arrest.
Wong is a repeat offender who was recently released from prison after serving a two-year, nine-month sentence for sexual crimes committed under similar online dating pretenses.
In 2023, he was convicted of luring women to hotels and coercing them into non-consensual sexual acts when he was 19 and serving as a community outreach officer for a political party in Kwan Po.
