SINGAPORE: Chinese food delivery giant Meituan has clarified that it does not offer international delivery services after a viral video showed a man in its uniform claiming he was paid to fly to Singapore to pick up a box of curry puffs.
In a video uploaded on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, the man – wearing what appears to be Meituan’s signature yellow jacket and helmet – was filmed buying a box of curry puffs at Paya Lebar Quarter Mall.
Speaking to the person recording the video, he claimed that a customer spent about 2,400 yuan (S$450) to fly him into Singapore.
He was supposedly tasked with buying a box of six curry puffs from Hong Lim Curry Puff. The curry puffs – including curry potato and sardine flavours – came up to $13.50.
When asked, he did not say how much he was paid for the assignment or who the customer was.
In response to queries from The Straits Times on Sept 6, Hong Lim Curry Puff founder Victoria Loh, 37, said the incident took place on Aug 31.
She said her part-time employee, who does not speak Mandarin, rang her for help when the man visited the outlet.
When Loh arrived at the store, the man asked if he could pay via WeChat Pay or Alipay, both of which are mobile and online digital wallet platforms used in China. Loh said her store was unable to accept those payment methods.
She said she thought the man was a “normal” customer and told her employee to proceed “as usual”.
Loh realised that the man was not a typical delivery rider only when she heard a woman, identified as the Xiaohongshu user, shouting “Meituan!”
Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao reported on Sept 5 that Meituan has denied launching cross-border food delivery or errand services.
In reply to queries sent through a chatbot on the Meituan app, a customer service personnel denied that customers can order food from China or have a delivery rider fly to Singapore to buy it, Lianhe Zaobao reported.
The customer service personnel stressed that Meituan does not support such ordering methods or provide any cross-border services, Lianhe Zaobao said.
The Straits Times has contacted Meituan and the Xiaohongshu user for more information. - Straits Times/ANN
