Another food scandal has hit Shenzhen, but this time it’s not about the food itself – it’s about how much you pay for it. Thirteen food restaurants in the city were found overcharging customers by controlling their electronic scales with…calculators, according to Shenzhen Daily. And who ever said there is no tech innovation in China?
An undercover investigation by Daily Sunshine revealed some worrisome practices at a seafood restaurant in Nan’ao Seafood Street, in Dapeng New Area. The reporter, who was buying tuna at the restaurant, noticed a peculiar sight: as the waiter was weighing his tuna, a woman standing nearby was pressing buttons on a calculator. His fish was then weighed at 0.8kg (at RMB68 per half kilo) on the restaurant’s scale.
Little did the restaurant know, the Daily Sunshine reporter was accompanied by law enforcement officials from the Shenzhen Municipal Market and Quality Supervision Commission – who later re-weighed the fish, finding it weighed 0.55kg. This means, the restaurant charged RMB34 more than the fish was actually worth.
After a proper inspection, the restaurant was found to have all the proper business licenses and a well-functioning electric scale – with no calculator in sight. The officers had their doubts and decided to bring the scale in for further examination.
After this initial incident, the Market Supervision Administration of Dapeng inspected 108 more seafood restaurants in Dapeng New Area – 13 were found to be controlling the scales remotely to overcharge customers.
While it’s not clear if the new tech (read: scam) trend is only popular in Dapeng New Area – it may be a good idea to have a quick look around before placing your purchase on a scale. And watch out for those calculators!
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